2016 Gallery
Winner: Best Restaurant Design
Bates Smart for Dinner By Heston Blumenthal
Victoria
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.
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 interiors 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.
