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2016 Gallery

Winner: Best Restaurant Design

Bates Smart for Dinner By Heston Blumenthal

Victoria

Photography: Mark Roper

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal takes inspiration from historical British dishes from the 1300s through to the Victorian era. The design reinforces Heston’s theatricality and delight in the unexpected, fully immersing patrons into the all-encompassing, but most importantly, it is a supportive act for the main feature; the dining experience.

batessmart.com

Jury Citation

We can summarise the essence of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in one word: sumptuous.

This is an interior that perfectly reflects the ambition of the venue and the chef himself – to transport the diner through a curated experience, one that is simultaneously calm yet exciting. Blumenthal wants everything to be an adventure, but one that engages the diner with comfort: the design of the interior supports this absolutely.

Eschewing the brittle formality that can accompany the high-end gastronomic experience, everything about this interior is “squishy” – to use an oddly non-designer-like word – you sink into the deep comfort of this interior, both literally and conceptually.

The experience begins with the entry, a dark and lusciously finished hall that physically transports you away from the “everyday” and deeper into the interior’s embrace. The dining room, and even the kitchen, are all tailored to emphasize the fact that you are somewhere special, and that special things are about to happen. The result is a heavily curated experience and interior that is equal parts theatrical and delightful.

Photography: Mark Roper
Photography: Mark Roper
Photography: Mark Roper
Photography: Mark Roper
Photography: Mark Roper
Photography: Mark Roper
Photography: Mark Roper
Photography: Mark Roper
Photography: Mark Roper
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