Midtown Restaurant: A Synergy of Brewery and Tapas

Ryoichi Niwata's Award-Winning Design Fuses Functionality and Aesthetics

The initial concept of Midtown Restaurant was born out of two separate ideas: a tapas restaurant and a craft beer bar. The client's vision was to combine these two concepts into one large restaurant to create a synergistic dining experience. The resulting design is reminiscent of a brewery factory, offering guests an entertaining and unique dining experience.

What sets Midtown Restaurant apart is its interconnected layout. The two sections of the restaurant are seamlessly connected, facilitating easy access while also allowing for separate use. The brewery tanks installed in the bar area are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional, producing fresh beers for guests to enjoy in this unique brewery space.

All furniture, pipes, lighting fixtures, and artwork in the restaurant are custom-made. The beer tanks and intricate piping are housed in beautiful glass cases, creating an industrial yet luxurious atmosphere. Imitation pipes and handles are added to enhance the feature and emphasize the character of the space. Fine gold details are used as accents to bring a touch of luxury to the space.

Midtown Restaurant spans approximately 830 square meters and accommodates 300 seats. The design team, which included the architecture firm Elegant and lighting designer Osamu Wakai, ensured that the two restaurant concepts functioned as a synergistic place. The tapas restaurant serves fresh drinks from the brewery bar, and the brewery bar provides fine meals from the kitchen. The restaurant also features an outdoor terrace and a space for live bands to perform, bringing life to the space.

The project, completed and opened on March 12th, 2016, is located in the suburbs of China. The design team aimed to create a topical restaurant for locals in a city that has been developing rapidly. The unique concept of drinking brewed beers with good tapas in a factory-like space offers an exceptional experience. Chinese design details are accented throughout the restaurant, with custom-made furniture and artworks imposing an eastern feel. This place was created to be an iconic place for Hangzhou, China.

One of the challenges faced by the design team was elevating the functional feature to the level of installation art. The mechanical tanks and pipes are not just functional elements but also form part of the restaurant's aesthetic appeal. This approach transformed the restaurant into a large installation art space with active functionality. The design was awarded Platinum in A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2017, recognizing its world-class, exceptional, and highly innovative design.