design et al are pleased to announce shortlist success for DesignLSM in the Restaurant Category of the International Hotel & Property Awards 2015.
Beast is an exciting new venture from DesignLSM’s long standing client, the Goodman Restaurant Group. Hidden away in a basement venue on Chapel Place in London, this unique communal fine dining concept offers diners shared dishes of the finest Norwegian king crab and 2 kilo cuts of steak.
The client was originally inspired by the communal meals served in rustic huts to the Norwegian fishermen who catch the king crabs. With the Goodman Restaurant Group’s history of combining innovation and high quality with now well established concepts such as Burger and Lobster and Goodmans, their brief to the design team was to push the boundaries of accepted fine dining and create a decadent, rustic space that reflected the quality and simplicity of the food offer.
Communal fine dining is easily the most unique aspect of the restaurant interior and represented the biggest challenge to DesignLSM’s restaurant interior design team. Their solution takes influence from medieval banqueting halls and the restaurant features six massive tables, each one a thick slab of oak measuring 6 metres in length. Long benches run the length of each table. Expertly made from green oak with scalloped seats, they create a raw and quite brutal effect, matching the simplicity and quality of the food offer.
The design team also softened the interior with rows of softly lit rustic candle chandeliers and ornate candelabras dotted along the tables. Diners are surrounded by dramatically lit tanks housing the live king crabs, fridges with large cuts of steak, wine cellars and an open kitchen. The food is opulent and messy, so diners are invited to use the concrete hand basins piled high with napkins, scented soaps and lemon chunks.