Wooden banquettes informed by New York City subway benches were paired with classic bentwood brasserie chairs at this French restaurant in London.
Set within a brick-clad railway arch next to London’s Borough Market, Cafe François is the sister restaurant of Westminster’s Maison François.
Designed by restaurateur François O’Neill and his team, the eatery serves a menu of French staples reimagined with global culinary influences – a hybrid approach that the designers aimed to reflect in the interiors.
Upon entering the restaurant, visitors are greeted by mosaic flooring arranged in petite grey, orange and black tiles that snake through the space.
“The flooring was created to set the tone and give the customer a reassuring welcome to the brasserie,” O’Neill told Dezeen.
“We are forever drawn to the ‘grand brasseries’ for our designs, with their cosmopolitan sophistication and their operational ethos in the art of creating an all-day dining room,” he added.
Moving through the eatery, visitors pass an open kitchen characterised by industrial stainless steel before reaching the main dining room illuminated by floor-to-ceiling Crittal-style windows and decorated with contrasting bespoke furniture.
Stained bentwood brasserie chairs and mahogany tables fitted with rattan inlays topped by glass surfaces reference traditional Parisian restaurants, while geometric wooden banquettes were constructed with built-in metallic coat hangers.
“Our banquette design was developed using inspiration from the public transport benches found in New York and Moscow’s underground systems and the tables were inspired by the restaurant Terminus Nord, a great institution in Paris,” explained O’Neill.
All these elements keep cafe culture and ethos in mind – transient business with quick turnover and laid-back style with a foundation of sophistication running throughout.
A perforated galvanised steel staircase leads to the upstairs dining room, which is cocooned by an arched roof. A central metallic glassware cabinet was paired with the same furniture as downstairs, arranged to fit the smaller space.
The restaurant toilets are accessed via a labyrinthine corridor flanked by glass-fronted shelving stocked with stacks of crockery. Floor-to-ceiling mosaic tiles clad the bathroom, characterised by curvy walls and round mirrors.
Small details such as clocks in both the entrance and the loos add the traditional idea that brasseries were station restaurants and time was needed as a source of protecting one’s travel plans,” said O’Neill.
“Our hope is that all of the restaurant’s elements combine to create a space that is both reassuringly recognisable and intriguingly different,” he concluded.
Previously, Maison François was designed with soaring arches reminiscent of those seen in Ricardo Bofill’s La Fábrica building. Elsewhere in London, architecture studio Quincoces-Dragò & Partners unveiled The Dover restaurant in Mayfair, which takes cues from art deco design.
The photography is courtesy of Cafe François.
