Interior Design

Mings Restaurant

Brief

Keppie Interior Design was appointed to design a new speciality restaurant within a purpose designed building for the Tong's.  This was the Client's second restaurant, following on from the success of their Princes Square eatery in Glasgow City Centre.  The requirements of our Client were to provide dining space for one hundred and twenty people, accommodate teppanyaki tables, a lounge bar waiting area and takeaway space.

Response

A series of design workshops were held within the Princes Square restaurant. These meetings allowed our Client to fully engage with our designers and contribute positively to the concept.  Our Client was initially convinced that their new restaurant should be arranged into groups of circular booths that could cater for ten to twelve people each.   We challenged this and  prepared space planning diagrams to show how smaller groups of loose furniture could offer greater flexibility and seating capacity, without compromising comfort levels.   The Client bought into our approach agreeing that the mix of inward and outward looking seating areas benefitted the space.

Outcome

The restaurant is entered through large glazed double doors into a circular lobby space.   The bar sits beyond this in a double height volume and provides pre-meal refreshments in the lounge.  The lounge is flexible and provides additional dining space at peak times.  The interior provides a neutral backdrop avoiding any oriental design clichés.  The palette of materials includes walnut panelling, Corian and mosaic tiling.  These are robust yet colourful and stimulating.

The feature within the space is the Teppanyaki dining.  This is where the chef cooks theatrically at a hot plate located in the centre of the diners table.  The lighting over the tables is dimmable to take advantage of the flaming displays!  Adjacent to this are a series of loose tables and chairs, screened from the main entrance by a high backed banquette seating unit.  The tables can be grouped together for larger parties.

Team