What’s a museum, no matter how new or bold-faced its credentials, without an equally tempting dining room in which to rest weary feet, and to dismantle the blockbuster show you’ve just swept through? It’s a gastronomic question that applies equally to the Design Museum’s new home in John Pawson’s freshly renovated former Commonwealth Institute in London.
Located on the top floor of the building, Parabola – a reference to the swoop of the copper roof – is awash with natural light and soothing views of Holland Park’s green swathe. By the looks of it, Universal Design Studio has spared no expense in its fit-out, installing long stretches of polished pewter and populating the floor with collaborative designs by the likes of Flos, Vitra and Benchmark.
In the main restaurant, waiter stations are built of blue stained ash, window banquettes with green leather, whilst the bar is lined with stools designed by Barber & Osgerby for Vitra. Meanwhile, the members’ room extrapolates the pewter mood-board with blue and black sofas alongside wood benches and seats, again by Barber & Osgerby.
But what of the food, you ask? Well, restaurateur Prescott & Conran has installed a series of guest chefs, the first of which is Rowley Leigh who is on kitchen duty until 28 January. He delivers familiar favourites like the Parmesan custard with anchovy toast; pike sausages; partridge served with cabbage chartreuse; and steamed oysters with beef jelly.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
224-238 Kensington High Street
-
Revolutionary Apple icon designer Susan Kare unveils a playful jewellery and objet collaboration with Asprey StudioAsprey Studio's new collection, Esc Keys, brings digital artworks by Susan Kare to life
-
What is the role of fragrance in contemporary culture, asks a new exhibition at 10 Corso ComoMilan concept store 10 Corso Como has partnered with London creative agency System Preferences to launch Olfactory Projections 01
-
Jack White's Third Man Records opens a Paris pop-upJack White's immaculately-branded record store will set up shop in the 9th arrondissement this weekend
-
Shakara is a stylish new addition to London's West African dining sceneShakara, a new Marylebone bar and dining room, adds to the city's ever-more impressive high-end West African dining scene
-
First a fishmonger then a restaurant, how Applebee’s became a Borough Market stapleIn line with the London seafood restaurant’s 25th anniversary, Applebee’s is reopening with a new menu and a new look courtesy of design studio A-nrd
-
Mayfair restaurant Silva is a dainty ode to the MediterraneanEnvisioned by Studio Wren, Silva is a dynamic, textural restaurant that reflects nature’s rhythms through its cuisine and design
-
Peek inside Heathrow’s new VIP terminal: exclusive travel from door to departureThe Windsor is Heathrow’s newly refurbished private terminal boasting a private gallery, cuisine from a Michelin-starred chef, and butler and chauffeur services
-
Night at the museum: the best art hotels to book nowSleep amid surrealists at London’s Broadwick Soho, or wake up to contemporary favourites at New Hotel in Athens – indulge in an immersive art hotel experience
-
London’s Piraña restaurant combines Japanese-Peruvian fusion with lavishly moody surroundsPiraña restaurant wraps a delicious Japanese-Peruvian fusion menu in an alluringly moody atmosphere in central London’s Mayfair
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Park Hyatt London River Thames: ‘Luxury meets the skyline’Tour the long-awaited debut of the Park Hyatt brand in the UK, soaring within a KPF-designed sleek glass tower in Nine Elms
-
Dinner and doilies: Bar Valette is an homage to intimate, yet unfussy diningFounder of The Clove Club, opens Bar Valette, a new London restaurant where comfort is king, and its thick chocolate mousse might be its showstopper
