Gardens, courtyards and wooden decks lend a domestic feel to the new home of Mexico City restaurant Pujol, which was recently named one of the best places to eat in the world.

Pujol, the highest ranking Mexico eatery included in The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2017, recently moved to a larger location in Mexico City, and local studio JSa was brought on board to design the interiors.

The restaurant is located in what was once a house in the Polanco neighbourhood of the city – an area known for its wealthy residents and cultural diversity.

The majority of residences in Polanco were built during a construction boom in the 1950s and were inspired by the properties in the south-west of the United States. Many feature gardens that wrap around the front and side of the house, and indoor courtyards.

JSa was keen to acknowledge these architectural details through its design, using local labour and materials in keeping with surrounding properties to do so.

"We wanted to preserve the essence of the house as a typical dwelling example of the Polanco neighbourhood, with a four deck roof and a garden that surrounds and protects it from the street," said the studio.

Elements from the original property were left intact, but adapted to make the space function better as a restaurant. Walls that created barriers were taken away, while false ceilings were removed to make the restaurant feel more spacious.

Furniture designed by Micaela de Bernardi makes use of terrazzo and wood, and tableware was created by Moisés Hernández to be "clean, comfortable and useful".

Gardens, courtyards and wooden decking are peppered throughout the interior, with the flow of the space designed to guide the customer on a journey though both indoor and outdoor areas.

To reinforce the concept of a journey, each space has different furniture arrangements – some with low-level, relaxed seating, and others populated by formal dining tables.

"The guiding concept was to articulate the different spaces in a journey through different conditions of light, scale, privacy, visual and spatial integration and interior-exterior interaction," said the designers.

"A continuous indoors-outdoors relationship takes place and makes the customer interact with the outside in most of the spaces, either towards the gardens or towards the orchards."

Pujol first launched in Mexico City 17 years ago, and its menu combines Mexican street food with haute cuisine.

JSa has completed a number of projects in Mexico City. Recently, the firm lined a hotel courtyard with black concrete blocks, and previously installed a walnut-lined wing to the José Vasconcelos Library to house the personal book collection of celebrated author Carlos Monsiváis.

Photography is by Luis Gallardo and Rafael Gamo.

Project credits: 

Project architects: Javier Sánchez, Aisha Ballesteros, Micaela de Bernardi
JSa design team: Javier Sánchez, Aisha Ballesteros, Selene García, Alma Caballero, Mario I Gudiño, Andrea Garín, Laura Natividad
Lighting design: Luca Salas
Structure: Margain & Asoc
Contractor: Alpha Hardin
Project Management and construction: JSa and Alma Caballero
Furniture: Micaela de Bernardi, Eduardo Prieto, Artless Corporation
Kitchen design: JSa, Amigo del Chef, Piacere
Art selection: Galería Arróniz (Omar Barquet, Ricardo Rendón, Fernando Garcia Correa) and Omar Arcega
Urban farming: Huertos Urbanos, Lily Foster, Allegra Piacentini
Landscape design: JSa, Paisaje + Flores