I love a beautiful restaurant and know that I can get some great design tips from them. Don’t get me wrong, the food has to be delicious, but I think the ambiance adds to the whole experience. Some of the top interior designers are getting into the restaurant design game and you can really tell. Design is becoming just as important as the food, and I’m here for it.
Located in The Colony Square, the design of this restaurant is everything. It has a cool California vibe with light wood, light colored walls and beautiful textures. Pastificio means “pasta factory” in Italian, but trust me, this is no factory.
If you love Italian food like I do, then try Serena Pastificio. My favorites are linguine with clams and Caesar salad. This salad is the best one I’ve ever had, no joke. You can also get takeout here, but I wouldn’t want you to miss this beautiful interior.
The private dining room has a ceiling dripping with clusters of what looks like white shells and bench seating with back cushions that feel like pillows. It really is magical, but don’t worry. If there’s no event going on, they will seat customers there.
The beams on the ceiling fit right into the California Cool look and can be used as inspiration for your house.
I love the hanging shelves in the dining room as well as the plant trough that goes down the length of the restaurant.
Taking in the whole view of the dining room, it really has a living room feel.
The patio also gives you the California feeling of indoor/outdoor living.
This Vietnamese restaurant is very French Colonial Chic. Located above the Etro fashion boutique in Buckhead (a very posh area of Atlanta), you’re in for a treat. The atmosphere is supposed to conjure the feeling of Saigon in the 1920’s and the decor is so interesting and varied from one area to another.
The food is great too. The lamb chops with ratatouille is spectacular as well as the tea cured duck. The desserts are wonderful too.
The Lounge is very colonial with dark woods, birdcage pendants and different shades of red.
The dining room is filled with black and white photographs, black fans and dark rattan seating. Even though it’s a totally different look from the lounge, it’s still Colonial decor.
The private dining room has epic wallpaper and falls right in line with the 2023 Decor Trends. If you want to read more about wallpaper as an interior design trend, please see my previous post here. Again, there’s the colonial dark wood and chairs with rattan.
The bar has a very French feel to it.
The outdoor patio makes you feel like you’re sitting on a veranda somewhere in the tropics.
The Consulate is the epitome of the “Dark Academia” look. This trend is dark and moody and a lot of times involves a library aesthetic. It’s the product of an interior designer and a chef who are married and wanted the restaurant to be a place that James Bond would go to and I could definitely see that. They also have an extensive art collection on display. It’s located in Midtown n 10th Street in an out of the way spot which fits in with this decor style.
They rotate the food every quarter to a different destination on the “Visa” side of the menu. There is also a “Resident” side of the menu that is made up of their staples. When I went, they were having an Irish moment on the Visa side. The Shepard’s pie was delicious as was a whiskey braised lamb shank.
The lounge felt like a cool British hang out and the orange Malm fireplace shut it down. Books on the shelves give it that library feel.
A gallery wall on dark walls is my thing so I was loving this.
You can never go wrong with rounded banquette seating.
These banquettes are so cool with the blue velvet. Above that are plates arranged in an artistic way and it’s a great design idea for your own house.
The private dining area is a cozy setting with a world map on one side and a gallery wall on the other.
The bar also has a British inspired pub-like aesthetic.
As far as trendy restaurants go, this one has all of the credentials: Conde Nast, Travel & Leisure, Bon Appetit, etc. It is totally deserving of the accolades, but I must say, the decor is fabulous too. It is Industrial but not cold. With pops of orange and wood that warm it up, I’d say run, not walk to this restaurant. It’s located right on the Beltline on Ralph McGill Blvd.
The food is great, including many standards like hangar steak, NY strip and the obligatory mac and cheese, but the star for me was the Spit Roasted Pork Loin. Yum. After your entree, top it off with the Melon Granita. You won’t be sorry.
The private dining has a wall of potted plants as a focal point, which definitely makes an impact.
An iron, wood and cement dining room makes this the ultimate in Industrial Chic.
The bar fits right in with the Industrial with a lot of stainless steel and a no-frills feel.
As it’s located right on the Beltline, their garage door patio can’t be beat for enjoying a meal, a cocktail and people watching. I love a good garage door in a restaurant, don’t you?
H&F is located in Colony Square along with Serena Pastificio. Colony Square is bustling with restaurants and H&F with its Traditional Style. Run by celebrated Chef Linton and his wife Gina, H&F is part of their hospitality group which includes H&F Bottle Shop, H&F Burger, C. Ellet’s Steakhouse and Hop’s Chicken.
They are known for their burgers, but everything on their menu is worth tasting. They were one of the first to market the “farm to table” style of dining and you can taste that concept in their ingredients.
The private dining space is very comfy with a lot of wood finishes.
The dining room is very traditional with varying colors of beige, traditional slipper chairs and windsor chairs. This all makes the room feel very comfortable and familiar.
You know I love a good seating nook and these are perfect because of their partitions that give you the most privacy. I also love that every table has its own gallery wall.
The bar is outfitted with traditional leather bar stools and I love for stools to have a back on them. It makes it more comfortable and invites you to stay awhile.
The patio is small but with iron tables and chairs, it gives you a homey feel.
Aziza is a restaurant that serves modern Israeli cuisine in an atmosphere that I consider to be Modern Desert decor. Located in the Westside district, which is flaming hot right now, the decor is giving “let me lay back and be fed grapes by a eunuch”, if you know what I mean.
I had never had Israeli food before, but when I started doing research, I realized it is very much the Mediterranean food I enjoy as well as some new items I wasn’t familiar with. The Israeli menu has influences of Lebanese, Moroccan, Persian and Iranian. I wanted to try everything and I damn near did. What really stood out to me was the kabobs, and the hummus was delicious.
This private dining room is stunning with its steel partitions, curtains and velvet banquettes all in a peach color that’s trending right now. The rattan pendants give it a nice textural twist.
The dining room has lime washed walls and the textures of the banquettes, rolled steel partitions and cut-out pendants makes it feel very Indiana Jones.
In this wider view of the dining room, you can really get the Modern Desert feel of the restaurant.
The bar has those cut-out pendants that are swagged over the bar top and give it a really cool look.
The patio is a bustling dream with lots of grass plants around it that give it that desert feel.
Canoe is an institution in Atlanta. Located near the Chattahoochee River in Vinings, there’s beautiful views everywhere on the property and inside the restaurant there’s definitely a Rustic Cabin decor style. There’s always been a robust special event business here, but if you want a cozy lunch, dinner or brunch meal, please head here if you haven’t already. With iron, brick, wood details and lake decor, it definitely makes you feel like you’re in a cozy cabin down to the ceiling that looks like the inside of a canoe.
The food is all American, with main entrees like rabbit, steak, lamb, salmon, duck and pork. Everything is very simply made with fresh vegetables. I particularly love the brunch, because I love brunch in general, and you can’t go wrong with the Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict. Chef’s kiss.
The private dining room is cozy cabin goodness with all of the wood, brick and tiled floors.
The dining room has touches of the canoe theme running through it.
This canoe light on the ceiling is the bomb. Don’t be afraid to take an unconventional object and turn it into a lighting fixture.
There’s a private bar outside for special events.
Anytime there’s an adirondack chair, I’m game. This beautiful view is so soothing.
The outdoor patio with its wood ceiling is very indicative of a cabin by the lake. The views of the manicured gardens invite you for an after dinner stroll too.
STK is one of the most glamorous steakhouses I’ve ever been to. It’s all moody and sexy, and reminds me of the Art Deco style of decor. It’s located right on Peachtree Street in midtown and if you’re looking for a good steakhouse, I highly recommend this spot. As soon as you enter, you’re met with the black and white decor along with the sparkle of all of the glasses on the table. I felt like I had to start shimmying because of the way it made me feel.
We all know that steakhouses are an expense that doesn’t happen that often, but when you’re ready for one, you go all in right? My favorites are the NY Strip and the Ribeye but I don’t think you could go wrong with any particular cut. The sides are actually included with the meal, which is not always the case. There are other things besides steak, but what would be the point?
Sexy channeled ivory banquette backs, glossy wooden tables, fresh flowers and touches of black make this dining room so sexy.
Another view of the dining room before they dim the lights.
This feature wall with the textured brick and the tusks is very dramatic.
Another view of the dining room with the backs of the black and white chairs.
The bar has the bar stools with the backs I love and the art installation of the tusks.Very cool and classy.
Located at the Works complex on Chattahoochee Avenue, The Forum Cocktail Co. just opened in June 2023 and is a very cool space. In reading the description of this restaurant and visiting the site, it’s giving me prohibition vibes which is the Modern Art Deco style. It was previously called Foundation and is the brainchild of the couple who own the mobile bar Aero Bar Atlanta, Drew and Brittany Fancher.
The food is traditional classics with a twist like a caesar salad with kale, radish and watermelon as well as lobster & frites and an Angus beef burger. There’s also a bar menu that looks like it’s more filling than the usual fare.
This loungey area of the dining room has lots of velvet upholstery and the tongue-in-cheek gold framed art gives it a whimsical art deco look.
The Midnight Room is by reservation only Thursday through Saturday and has the art deco wallpaper of my dreams and the curvy banquette seating that I love. This is located behind a hidden entrance down a hallway and is called a speakeasy.
The modern art deco style to me is not so literal so the addition of wood and modern pendants to the very slick style of the bar really updates this style. This bar is in the Midnight Room and has a different look than the main dining bar. The bar cocktails consist of a Hemingway Daiquiri and a Mary Pickford, with gin drinks that say prohibition era to me.
The Garden Room inside the Hotel St. Regis is a maximalist’s dream which is why I included this. It might not be my personal style, but it hits all of the notes for the new Cottage Core or sometimes called Grand Millennial Style. It’s like being in the middle of a garden, hence the name.
Of course you have to make reservations, but believe me, it’s worth it. The food menu consists of burgers and lobster and much much more, but the brunches on Sunday are next level. Can you imagine drinking champagne in this restaurant? It’s perfect for that, but the food is great also. Makes you want to dress up all ladylike and sip with your pinky finger out.
A trellis and garden chairs just adds to the floral theme.
The dining room is truly magical and the pattern mixing on the upholstery is next level.
I’ve always wanted an antique carousel horse, so this made my heart go pitter-patter.
The bar is a whimsical treat with its rounded edges and pink bar stools and it’s located right in the middle of the atrium ceiling.
Can you tell that I love food, first of all, and eating food in a beautiful interior? I’ve always thought that the interior design was as important as the food even though you can get delicious food from a hole in the wall. I just think when there’s as much thought put into the atmosphere as the food, it gives you an experience instead of just a meal.
Another thing about restaurant interiors is that it gives you all kinds of ideas for DIY projects in your own house.
Please let me know if you’ve been to any of these restaurants and/or if you’ve ever gotten a decor idea from one for your house.
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