restaurants

Posts tagged
with restaurants

Food History

An Ancient Snack Bar Lined with Elaborate Frescoes Opens in Pompeii

The ancient thermopolium (aka hot food stand) that archaeologists unearthed in Pompeii late last year opens to the public this week. Showing the extent of the snack bar’s impeccable preservation—much of its structure, equipment, and vibrant decorations remain intact—new photos from the Regio V site offer a rare glimpse into life in the Italian city that was buried by volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.

Elaborate, colorful frescoes depicting on-menu fare like chickens and hanging mallards line the L-shaped bar, with an array of large, earthenware vessels scattered around the space. Embedded within the counter are storage wells called dolia that would have held warm dishes and drinks like wine, duck, fava beans, a paella-style dish of pork, goat, bird, fish, and snail, remnants of which were found last year. According to a release from the site, middle- and lower-class residents rarely cooked at home and were the likely patrons of this small spot, which was one of nearly 80 around the city.

Although this thermopolium originally was discovered back in 2019, archaeologists didn’t return to resume excavation until 2020. Starting August 12, visitors are welcome to stop by every day between noon and 7 p.m., and you can watch the video below for a closer look at the relic. (via The History Blog)

 

Apre al pubblico dal 12 agosto il #Termopolio della Regio V, l’antica tavola calda di Pompei, portata in luce durante gli ultimi scavi in un’area della città antica mai prima indagata. pic.twitter.com/gPhWQAwkkV

— Pompeii Sites (@pompeii_sites) August 6, 2021

Design

Architecture Firm NUDES Uses Corrugated Cardboard to Form the Furnishings and Walls of a Mumbai Cafe

In the new Mumbai-based cafe Cardboard Bombay, corrugated cardboard composes each chair, table, and light fixture, in addition to the sinuous walls which sweep across the space. The restaurant was designed with the biodegradable material by Nuru Karim, founder of Mumbai-based architectural firm NUDES, who chose the material because of its sustainability, versatility, and ability to absorb sound.

Before starting on the cafe the design team tested the cardboard they wished to use, researching how it would react with typical hospitality factors such as water resistance and temperature changes. Next NUDES designed the undulating chairs, light fixtures, and wall partitions to have a similar free-flowing appearance, and treated cardboard tables with wax to seal the furniture and prevent damage. You can see more images from the (via designboom)

Design

Dine Inside a Pair of Grasshopper-Shaped Locomotives at a South Korean Cafe

Grasshopper’s Dream is an insect-shaped cafe that sits along the popular Auraji rail bike route near Jeongseon, South Korea. The converted and stacked green train cars are placed near by the Gujeol-ri train station, and are each outfitted with protruding metal legs and thin antennae. Two other landmarks for bicyclists are also situated near the cafe — a pair of equally massive fish and another pair of grasshoppers that are far more cartoonish in appearance. At night, the insect-themed cafe is illuminated from below, presenting a great view of the dual bugs day or night. (via Design You Trust)

 

Design

Europe’s First Underwater Restaurant Doubles as a Marine Research Center

At Under, a new restaurant completed by architecture and design firm Snøhetta (previously), splashes of aquamarine light dance across tabletops and dishes. This greenish blue hue is emitted from a portal at the front of the space that, as its name suggests, peers underwater and into the depths of the North Sea. The half-sunken restaurant is located at the southernmost tip of Norway, with one side of the structure built into the coastline, and the other resting against the seabed.

Snøhetta Founder and Architect, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen explains that the new building “challenges what determines a person’s physical placement in their environment.” In this building,” he continues, “you may find yourself under water, over the seabed, between land and sea. This will offer you new perspectives and ways of seeing the world, both beyond and beneath the waterline.”

In addition to serving as a restaurant, the submerged building also functions as a marine research center. Interdisciplinary research teams will be invited to study the surrounding the biodiversity found along the southern coast, with the goal of building a machine learning tool that will monitor and track the species at regular intervals. Under’s design was also planned with these populations in mind. The building was built to function as an artificial coral reef, and will become integrated into the sea as limpets, kelp, and other underwater life begin to grow from its concrete shell.

The underwater restaurant opens for its first service today, and will seat 35-40 guests nightly. You can see more images from the new restaurant and learn about its menu on their website. (via Dezeen)

Design History

In 1848 A French Commune Built an Interconnected Treehouse Cabaret Based on Swiss Family Robinson

For over a century, Parisians were drawn out of the city and into the neighboring village of Le Plessis-Piquet to experience charming summer evenings among the township’s tall trees. What started as open air dancehalls called “guinguettes,” turned into treehouse cabarets after restaurant proprietor Joseph Gueusquin built Le Grand Robinson in 1848.

Inspired by the treehouse described in The Swiss Family Robinson, the unique establishment hoisted visitors to the top branches of a thick chestnut tree to dine dozens of feet above their fellow revelers. Over the next few decades copycat restaurants began popping up in trees across town, hosting donkey races and building tall tree swings to persuade diners away from their numerous competitors. This crop of new treetop guinguettes forced Gueusquin to rename his lounge “Le Vrai de Arbre Robinson” (The Real Robinson Tree) in 1888, which ensured customers knew they were dining at the original treehouse of Le Plessis-Piquet.

In 1909, after 60 years of booming success with the popular treehouses, the town changed its name to Le Plessis-Robinson. Today none of the Parisian suburb’s treetop bars remain (the last shut its doors in 1976), however the memory of treetop revelry remains in the few forgotten boards tacked to the town’s tall trees. (via Jeroen Apers)

Art Design

Enigma: A Steampunk-Themed Cafe Filled with Kinetic Sculptures Opens in Romania

Welp, now we’ve seen everything. Just last week, a new cafe opened in Romania called Enigma that claims to be “the world’s first kinetic steampunk bar.” We have no way to verify if that’s true, but it certainly looks impressive from these photos, if you’re into that sort of thing. A slightly terrifying humanoid robot with a plasma lamp cranium bicycles by the door, and a variety of kinetic artworks churn and rotate on both the ceiling and walls. Watch the video to take a peek inside, and if you’re in town you can visit Enigma Cafe at Enigma at Iuliu Maniu, Nr 12, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Photos by Zoly Zelenyak from The 6th-Sense Interiors. (via Steampunk Tendencies)