Barcelos: A Date With Portugal

A pop of vintage with a pop of modern gives us the all-new restaurant of Barcelos in Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi.  This Portuguese themed restaurant, although a part of an international chain, is designed to be class apart from all its other counterparts and all credit for that goes to New Delhi based Design Radiance.

Why the name Barcelos, one may wonder. Barcelos is a quaint Portuguese town famous for the ancient legend of the Barcelos rooster. On those lines, traditional Portuguese tile patterns in the main passage, graffiti walls showing Portugal streets, raw edgy interiors and hints of vintage elements throughout the restaurant create a language which is absolutely exclusive to this Barcelos outlet.

Today, with modern fast paced lifestyles, there is little time to revisit older traditions and soak in the simple pleasures of life. The same applies to food. Barcelos believes that a bridge needs to be created where one can go back in time and reconnect with simpler times at the same time cope with fast lane demands of today. This ideology reflects in the cuisine they serve which finds a balance between healthy traditional home-style cooking and modern world fast food styles. In the end, it is the overall experience that sets the impression. When food and ambience dance with perfect coordination, there can be no complaints.

As per the brief, the design of the space was to have an industrial distressed look fused with traditional Portuguese elements to give it a unique ambience. The restaurant has been designed as a 90 seater. An open seating/smoking area, two separate dining areas, a bar area and a live performance area have been incorporated. To consolidate the different areas, they were designed on levels to create segregations in seating space and set each space as distinct. Exposed ducts and pipes on the ceiling, metal and crystal chandeliers and Portuguese patterned tiles accentuate the vintage hues. The different areas have differently designed tile combination in bright colours adding spunk to the interiors. A play of different spaces under the same roof presents an opportunity to flirt with furniture. Such a design does not compel a singular language as far as furniture is concerned. High bar stools in the bar area, high table seating and a combination of medium height dining chairs and sofas and lounge seating have all been carefully curated to give a good visual mix

Raw brick walls and rough textures, columns clad in riveted metal sheets, metal wire mesh cladding, rough wood cladding, textured clay and distressed wall finishes bring in the desired industrial dramatics set as a design requisite.

Even with a distinct style, it was important to establish the restaurant as a part of the international chain. So, Portuguese artwork of the Barcelos chain has been incorporated like the Barcelos Legend wall, Cock roll and Portuguese village graphic to showcase the tradition and legacy of the brand. Attractive properties such as the world map and vintage clock inspired from the Portuguese vintage theme add to the wall décor.

Credits:
Design Head - Dixit Gandhi, Director, Design Radiance


Design Radiance Support Team - Sakshi Verma (Design)
                Shawaz Saifi (Project In-charge)