Design Research Studio (DRS) has created the interiors for a new bar and restaurant on The Strand, London under the creative direction of Tom Dixon. BRONTE overlooks Trafalgar Square and is inspired by the history of the Strand, Victorian explorers, extraordinary collectors and the 'Cabinet of Curiosities'. BRONTE is DRS’s first standalone restaurant since Eclectic in Paris.
The restaurant boasts striking architectural features such as an arched glazed facade leading from the traditional colonnade terrace into a double heighted space with a mezzanine level and a more intimate dining room towards the back. Floor to ceiling windows bathe the pantry area in natural light, with a subtle and stylish palette travelling through to the main restaurant.
Against a neutral backdrop, sit large feature elements in extraordinary materials - a pink concrete breakfast bar, a green granite kitchen and a pewter cocktail bar, custom design furniture with green leather and black timber booths - each celebrating a different part of the eclectic all-day food and drink offering.
Elements of a ‘collector’s house’, with treasures from far afield, run throughout the design. Each area uses colours and ‘cabinet of curiosities’ characteristics to create its own personality, with remarkable materials used generously and boldly.
Address: Bronte, 1-3 Strand, London, WC2N 5EJ