Design solutions for top London restaurants

Owing to their numerous benefits for commercial applications, an increasing number of London eating establishments have selected either Silestone or Dekton surfaces by Cosentino. Japanese restaurant Ichiryu, popular Portuguese chain Nando’s and StreetXO, the new London based restaurant by well-known Spanish chef, Daviz Muñoz are just three examples.

Ichiryu, Oxford Street

Oxford Street is considered Europe’s favourite shopping area. It has more than 300 shops and many services available. The first department stores in Britain opened on Oxford Street in the early 20th century, including Selfridges, John Lewis and HMV.

A relative newcomer is Ichiryu, a Japanese restaurant specialising in handmade Udon noodles. It was founded by entrepreneur Tak Tokumine, who opened Japan Centre, the well-known Japanese food hall situated in central London. The emphasis throughout is on healthy, fresh, natural flavours, and this is reflected in the restaurant’s design, where light colours are paired with wood.

Dekton by Cosentino in Aura was chosen for the seven-metre-long servery area, in addition to a cashier countertop. Superior technical characteristics such as resistance to scratches, stains and thermal shock make Dekton ideal for such spaces where daily usage is always particularly intense.

Its low porosity ensures that liquid spills will not penetrate the surface, ensuring it is easy to clean and maintain, and making it a hygienic choice. In addition, the availability of Dekton in large format slabs lends a sense of continuity to the design.

Nando’s, Bayswater

Bayswater is one of London’s most cosmopolitan areas: a diverse local population augmented by a high concentration of hotels. Property ranges from very expensive apartments to small studio flats.

With over 350 restaurants in the UK, Nando’s is a popular and well established chain. Its flavours hail from its South African and Portuguese roots. Customers are required to place their orders at the counter, and collect their own cutlery and condiments from serving stations.

When designing the new Nando’s Bayswater restaurant, architects understood the need for a material that would be able to withstand a constant influx of customers, while blending with the establishment’s predominantly timber design.

Cosentino’s Silestone was chosen in shade Toffee for the two servery areas. Cosentino commercial project manager Manuela Marin says: “It works beautifully with the timber and the rest of the materials used for the project, and of course it offers all the advantages of Silestone that makes it perfect for this type of application.”

These advantages include scratch, stain and impact resistance, in addition to benefiting from a colour consistency that is not found in natural stone, ensuring that the countertop retains uniform aesthetics.

Streetxo, Mayfair

Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the east edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane; it is one of the most expensive districts in London and the world.

Opened in November 2016, StreetXO in Mayfair is the latest venture by Spanish chef Daviz Muñoz. Known for his three- Michelin-starred fusion cuisine restaurant, DiverXO in Madrid, StreetXO is the chef’s first UK establishment.

Striving to create a theatrical serving environment, with the kitchen on show to diners, the menu offers tapas-style dishes with a Spanish influence and pronounced Asian and South American flavours.

With Silestone and Dekton being specified for DiverXO, the materials were a proven choice for the new restaurant.

Some 51m2 of Dekton in the colour Spectra has been selected as the wall cladding used throughout the restaurant, which is situated in a basement space and features a strong black and red colour scheme throughout.

Silestone has also been specified throughout, with Polished Negro Tebas used for the main bar countertop and Polished Negro Marquina Marble for the table tops.

The application of Silestone ensures not only a sleek aesthetic, says Cosentino, but also provides the benefits of its heat, stain and scratch resistant properties, ideal for surfaces which will be in constant use.

Polished Doradus13 was chosen for the washbasins, while the same shade was also selected for use in shelves used around the restaurant, with several in the rest rooms, again owing to its superior technical qualities and hardwearing nature.