BEAUTY: Interior Design--A Cevicheria by Antonio Martins

Interior designer Antonio Martins designed a fantastic little restaurant in Lisbon, Portugal called A Cevicheria. Specializing in seafood, the restaurant sports a whimsical, giant octopus in the central dining area. The iron doors with laser cut images of fish and fowl are reminiscent of an Escher print. And I love how Martins used a blue and white color palette which not only evokes the sea but also references the azulejos, traditional Portuguese tin-glazed ceramic tiles which are always in blue and white...

https://www.facebook.com/ACevicheriaChefKiko/
http://www.antoniomartins.com/

Poisonnerie Némeau

For Poisonnerie Némeau, a fish monger in Montréal, designer Jean de Lessard looked no further than the name for inspiration. Taking Captain Nemo as his brief, de Lessard said, “I approached this project from the ‘vintage’ viewpoint of Jules Verne, but through a time line between today and tomorrow. It’s subtle, a little crazy, but fun!”

The largest and most unique feature is the ice floe sculpture in cool ocean blues outlined in riveted bronze bands (that could have come from The Nautilus itself) looming over the store but then sliding down a wall to become shelving for products. The "floating ice berg" cold cases topped with asymmetric glass were custom designed to showcase the seafood as a fine jewelry store would display jewelry. And the jagged pattern of the flooring and grey walls again brings to mind icebergs and floes. The entire design is such a wonderfully inventive approach.

http://www.nemeau.co/

http://delessard.com/

All images by Francois Laliberté
http://www.studioimagicom.com/

The Plastic Dining Room

The School of Fish, a non-profit organization based in Vancouver, BC dedicated to persuading culinary schools throughout the world to include a comprehensive sustainable seafood course as a requirement prior to graduation, have built a charming, floating dining room.

From their website:
"With the assistance of our marine engineer and with all safety regulations taken into account, we have designed and built a luxurious dining room which is staying afloat with the use of 1,675 plastic 2-litre bottles built into its frame.
Within this floating dining room will be a table for twelve guests. Tickets are $195 per person plus tax (when booking prior to July 31 and will be $215 thereafter). You are invited to dine with us in the warm summer air while floating on your own private dining room with an up-close view of the sailboats passing by throughout the night. All materials going into and coming out of this floating dining room will be renewable, recycled, reclaimed and/or repurposed.
Intimate lighting, soft music, designer furnishings, bone china dishes, elegant silverware and crystal glassware will all be included to add to this unique experience. The floating plastic represents the issue of our oceans becoming a collecting ground for discarded plastic; one of the many threats to our seafood supplies."

After spending this past summer in San Diego, the floating Plastic Dining Room will be partnering with restaurants around the world for next summer. It may be floating into a port near you! (I am hoping it gets to SF since we are in a foodie paradise here!)


http://blog.schooloffishfoundation.org/