Europe’s first ‘design food court’ is an Instagram dreamworld

‘Teller of stories’ Studio Aisslinger has lent its graphic design-eye to Kantini, a new concept eatery in Berlin.

Headed up by local designer Werner Aisslinger (who once told me that he ‘tends to jump into new projects, whatever they are, head first’), the project is a mindbending mesh of foliage, furniture and frappuccinos. 

‘Our studio has created a new typology of food market with design-forward stalls and an atmospheric experience that diners are bound to remember, and share online,’ he says. Creating Instagrammable restaurants, like Sketch in London and Odette in Singapore, is a trend that has spread globally over the last half decade, where the interiors aim to become social media-fodder as much as the food.

Few strike the balance between social dynamite and design prowess as successfully as Kantini, however. Housed in the already photogenic concept shopping mall Bikini, (where Aisslinger also designed the 25hours Hotel) nature meets culture meets cookery in perfect harmony. Sofas are arranged in a ‘landscape’; 13 modular kitchens become stages for culinary performance art, and a vast, caged seating area echoes the aviary next door.

Before the witty interiors edge into the wrong side of ‘gimmicky’, Aisslinger draws one’s lens to the high quality furnishings on display, all custom made in house. Highlights include the ‘Token’ stool (for Moroso), ‘Hobo’ lamp (for Wästberg), and the ‘Tree’ lamp light installation.

Inspiration comes from ‘David Hockney’s pictoral world’ and the ‘flora of LA’, and will no doubt have your Insta-feed prickling with cacti, colour and characterful clutter. It’s almost easy to forget the reason you popped in – lunch.

INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Studio Aisslinger website

ADDRESS

Bikini
Budapester Str. 38-50
10787 Berlin, Germany

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