How to Amaze Visitors with Your Restaurant Design

For a new restaurant to lure in customers, interior design, good branding, and cozy ambiance play as important a role as good food does. Here are some restaurant interior design ideas and tips to learn from.

A good dining experience tingles all your senses, not just the taste. And you don’t need only exquisite restaurant management and a solid catering business plan, but also a restaurant concept that will take a simple need to another level. Some design projects aced the aesthetic, vibe and space planning, managing to turn themselves into dining establishments to be reckoned with.

New restaurant owners and veterans in the business know how hard it is to work on a budget, especially if you can’t afford an interior designer and a respectable design studio. Still, some restaurant design trends and simple branding tips can help you create a unique name and brand.

Urban aesthetic for small and vibrant restaurants

A restaurant space doesn’t always have to be big to attract a lot of customers. In fact, most popular hotspots lately are small restaurants with well-planned seating areas, homely atmosphere and urban and youthful aesthetics.

Here are some bistros and restaurants that nailed their design, even though they might not be bigger than a private home’s dining area.

1. Coppelia NYC

This little, but vibrant diner in New York City works 24/7, offering a Cuban experience in the heart of Manhattan since 2011. In 2018, the restaurant needed a rebranding that will reflect the quick tempo of the city and the spicy flavor that Latin culture represents.

The designer wanted to keep the two most iconic elements of this fusion for a diner: geometric shapes that resemble neon signs, and for La Havana, the pastel color scheme honoring Cuba.

They infuse this recognizable identity in all aspects of their branding: from business cards to social media marketing, as well as the exterior signage and interior design.

2. Yaourti

The Greek-Canadian restaurateurs Kleio and Theodoros wanted to infuse their native culture and heritage into their Montreal restaurant’s design. And they succeeded in that, embedding elements of ancient Greek architecture in their logo, interior design, decorative elements and even accessories.

The creative director behind the branding project, Charlene Sepentzis, says of the idea: “By reinterpreting some key aspects, such as the iconic ancient arches and certain Hellenic forms, we created a graphic language that is undeniably Greek in appearance but brimming with modernity”.

3. Rooby Fancy Kitchen

This lovely ruby-colored, feminine restaurant design is consistent with the name and overall branding, from the neon signage in a suitable color to the pastel color scheme and floral bar design. The furniture and marble table tops are a nice mixture of Art Deco glam, with a pinch of industrial style, but completely washed in bright colors that give it a more humanist approach.

Even though not too spacious, the overall look of this restaurant bar makes it seem cozy and relaxing. The terrace is bigger and surrounded by greenery, allowing a different experience for customers who would like to have privacy or a cup of coffee to wind down.

4. Jerome

Rarely does a restaurant design and branding influence outside of the actual restaurant as much as it’s the case with this pizzeria. Jerome is a Neapolitan-style pizza place also offering fast food delivery service, that nailed the target with the youthful and modern branding.

Instead of using checkered tablecloths and stereotypically Italian symbols, they gave extra attention to packaging, pizza boxes, stickers and menu flyers, and infused their identity in each and every little detail. Taking in mind the effects that coronavirus imposed on the hospitality service business, many restaurants had to pivot and rethink their service. If you’re suddenly stuck with having to only do delivery, learn from Jerome. Even without a physical spot, your restaurant design can be effective.

5. 1910

Yet another case of good branding saving the day, is this Mexican cantina named after the year of the revolution that transformed Mexican culture and culminated in the Mexican constitution.

Through infusing traditional Oaxacan pottery patterns and elements of the designs of legendary architect Luis Barragan, the designers managed to create a memorable and colorful palette and apply that inspiration throughout the entire graphic system.

A luxurious look for a fine dining restaurant of your dreams

Yes, we all appreciate the rise of small boutique restaurants and hip coffee shops, but once in a blue moon, everyone wants to enjoy a high-end dining experience. If your restaurant is a spacious and extravagant spot, the design should match.

Here are some luxurious restaurants that will inspire you.

6. Charlie's

This gorgeous restaurant in Egypt boasts elements of Art Deco, a lavish interior design, and an exquisitely elegant color scheme. With the use of mirrors, space appears to be bigger, while the mustard yellow elements and golden-colored metal frames of doors and furniture add a sense of luxury.

7. Farzi Café

Natural wood palette combined with lavish greenery, and an open kitchen to give you a sneak peek into the masterful cooking, make this restaurant design a unique experience. Dubbed a “modern spice bistro”, its spaciousness and well-organized floor plan help the whole space seem cozy, even though there are a lot of elements that make the overall design.

8. Ámbar

This branding and design concept by acclaimed studio Made Shop helped this wood grill steakhouse bearing the name “amber” in Spanish have a unique and memorable identity. The logo is conventional, yet experimental, and the branding and collateral materials are based on the interior design: dark and earthy, but with a playful side.

The interior itself mostly revolves around the color of amber, and the signage is also “cast” inside resin.

9. Tasty Lounge Bar

This lounge bar offering a fusion between Italian food and traditional Macedonian cuisine boasts an elegant and modern interior, with touches of pastel and light colors. The branding is in line with the overall aesthetic, and the identity was “built to align with the elegant and classic style of the place and convey the message of high-end customer service”.

Industrial modern for the hip crowd

In the past few years, the foodservice industry saw a reanimation of the industrial modern style, where a blend of minimalism and fine Art Deco elements became popular again. Luckily, this interior design style is still very much in, and you can use it for your restaurant design as well.

10. Too Much

Concrete and brick walls, a toned-down palette of colors, black metal elements and welded pipes are the main elements of this sharply designed restaurant and wine bar in Moscow. But, to complement the industrial look of the place, there is no traditional bar counter. The barman works at a table in the restaurant common space, as if he is working in the kitchen at home.

11. Unnamed Industrial Restaurant

This design project for an unnamed restaurant in Saudi Arabia is a nice balance between sharp industrial modern style and colors that attract attention. The black metal and chandeliers add some pizzazz and make it elegant, while the plants add a touch of nature.

12. Greenwich Grind

This lavish espresso bar is designed by the renowned interior architecture studio Biasol, and it comes as no surprise that it’s a perfectly balanced blend of many trends and styles. What is sharp and intruding in the geometric shapes, is complemented by the gorgeous colors and light and open space.

Restaurant concepts out of the ordinary

Quirky concepts that turn a restaurant into something else are also very popular lately. It’s hard to compete with expensive places with big budgets or chain restaurants, but if you offer your guests something they haven’t yet seen, that can be the ace up your sleeve.

13. Blind Butcher

Starting from the name, you know you shouldn’t expect your casual dining room experience. This beer and snack bar has a unique visual identity, borrowed from traditional butchers’ signage and typography. The designers developed a unique typeface for the logomark and embedded the classic butcher shop vibe and masculine touch in every detail.

14. The Tropical Restaurant

Living in metropolitan areas and concrete jungles, sometimes people wish to relax surrounded by greenery and wind down in a place that brings nature closer. The Tropical Restaurant is exactly that small oasis one would need on a busy day, and the design is perfectly light and would make you feel in line with nature.

Hopefully, you found enough beautiful designs to inspire you for your next restaurant or rebranding project. You can find more restaurant inspiration, from restaurant logos to menu ideas and website designs on our blog.