Bridget Cogley has picked the top restaurants around the world for our next review of 2019 – including Snøhetta's underwater eatery in Norway, a Kyoto chocolate bar and an all-pink pizza spot in London.
Under by Snøhetta, Båly, Norway
This underwater restaurant on the southern tip of Norway by Snøhetta comprises a rectangular concrete container that slants up against a rocky cliff and plunges down into the North Sea. Inside, water is visible through a floor-to-ceiling acrylic window, and appears to glow a turquoise hue.
"It's a great experience, and to sit here and be safe, allowing the nature so close into you," lead project architect Rune Grasdal told Dezeen. The restaurant, called Under, is decorated sparingly with oak tables and chairs and is complete with three dining levels, a champagne bar and a foyer.
Esora by Takenouchi Webb, River Valley, Singapore
Singapore's Esora is a Japenese eatery inside an old shophouse – a common building type in Southeast Asia that combines a home with a workplace. Designed by local studio Takenouchi Webb, the interiors feature a large amount of timber, including its walls, furniture and floors.
At the centre of the space is an L-shaped table that offers a chef's table dining experience. Overhead is a curved, white ceiling design that adds depth and character.
Humble Pizza by Child Studio, London, England
Humble Pizza in London's Chelsea neighbourhood is almost entirely pink, making its cosy Italian food pop against the playful decor. It is painted bright pink outside too, and even its plates, mugs and packaging are coloured in a rosy hue.
Designed by locally based Child Studio, the eatery is a narrow storefront with a service counter on one side and a built-in upholstered bench fronted by small round tables and stools on the other.
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Yaffa by Frama, Copenhagen, Denmark
Called Yaffa, this Copenhagen restaurant is outfitted with cream tile floors, wood dining chairs, sandblasted marble tabletops, green walls and taupe accents.
Located in a basement in the city's Gråbrødretorv square, the restaurant serves Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes and takes its name from an ancient port city in Israel, also called Jaffa or Yafo. A feature of the interiors are Alvar Aalto's 69 chairs paired alongside Chair 01 designs by Frama, which designed the project.
Auburn by Klein Agency, Los Angeles, USA
A fine-dining restaurant in Los Angeles on Melrose Avenue, Auburn is the work of husband-and-wife design duo Jon and Maša Kleinhample of Klein Agency and local architect Oonagh Ryan. A range of different nooks and spaces are provided throughout the restaurant for dining and relaxing, based on custom made tables, chairs and lights.
Light wood floors, cream walls and wood and black accents inform a natural aesthetic, while an outdoor dining area is enclosed with glass walls and doors to bring sunlight inside.
Willmott's Ghost by Price Erickson, Seattle, USA
Amazon's Seattle headquarters is complete with an all-day eatery Willmott's Ghost, named after botanist Ellen Willmott, located in its office-cum-botanical garden The Spheres.
Designed by local interior designers Jeremy Price and Renee Erickson of Price Erickson with by Heliotrope Architects, the restaurant features curved booths enclosing the orb-shaped venue alongside concrete pillars painted soft pink. Globe lights with bronze accents dangle overhead.
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The Manzoni by Tom Dixon, Milan, Italy
London designer Tom Dixon has created a restaurant in Milan, Italy with a colour palette of mint green, grey and black for The Manzoni, which serves also as his furniture showroom and European headquarters.
"The idea is that everything is for sale, so table settings, through to candle holders, glassware, furniture, absolutely everything will be available to buy," Dixon told Dezeen.
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Dandelion Chocolate by Fumihiko Sano Studio, Kyoto, Japan
Dandelion Chocolate is a chocolate maker and factory from San Francisco, which has set up shop in Kyoto thanks to the work of Fumihiko Sano Studio.
Located on a quiet street in the city's Ichinenzaka neighbourhood, the project contains a cacao bar where customers can order pairings of chocolate, beverages and desserts, as well as a traditional Japanese courtyard garden. Almost all of the historic property has been preserved for this adaptive reuse project.
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Et Cetera by Jeonghwa Seo, Seoul, South Korea
South Korean designer Jeonghwa Seo has designed a wine bar and a cafe in Seoul with a powerful grey palette based on the heavy use of concrete, mirrors, glass and aluminium.
Called Et Cetera, the cafe is filled sparingly with custom tables and chairs made from cast aluminium bases that have been welded into elongated elliptical shapes. The pieces have welding join-lines that have not been ground down to highlight the making process.
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Maku Poke Stop by WeWi, Cancun, Mexico
Maku is a poke spot in the Mexican beach town of Cancun, designed by local studio WeWi around the "smooth atmosphere of the Mexican Caribbean beaches".
Large concrete planters with lush plants divide the cafe and create dining nooks, with wood chairs, tables and built-in booths upholstered in a cream fabric filling the space. The walls, floor and ceiling are coated in chukum – a local plaster technique made from limestone and tree resin.
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