Rhoda | Wallpaper*

Rhoda entrance Hong Kong, China — (Image credit: press)

Prolific Hong kong restaurateur Yenn Wong continues to redefine the city’s food scene, this time teaming up with British chef Nathan Green to create a laidback eatery that focuses on modern comfort food.

‘We wanted the restaurant to reflect Nathan’s personality and passion for food with a modern design that has raw and honest elements but is still playful,’ explains the restaurant’s designer Joyce Wang who has decorated the ground floor space in a moody palette of black and grey, offset with gleaming copper accents.

Unconventional design details inspired by the chef include a statement chandelier made from repurposed washing machine drums, and the semi-private ‘Nate’s Room’, a cubby-like space decorated with rough chicken-wire-patterned cement walls bristling with traditional shaving brushes and a ceiling light-box installation showcasing vintage tattoo art – a nod to Green’s own inked body and show-stopping beard.

Wang’s trademark materiality is also on show with Shou Sugi Ban (burnt wood) walls and cedar tables branded with a Tudor rose motif, a turibute to Green’s grandmother Rhoda, whose name translates to ‘rose’. A communal table sporting a melted copper crevice is ideal for larger groups although we think the best spot is at the curved open kitchen counter where the chef holds court at a charcoal grill.

The menu is short and the food simple but flawlessly executed with rustic fare such as an intense-flavoured 12-hour slow cooked lamb shoulder, salted king prawns with smoked eggplant and crispy shallot, and ginger biscuit trifle inspired by his mother’s recipe.

ADDRESS

345 Des Voeux Road West

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Catherine Shaw is a writer, editor and consultant specialising in architecture and design. She has written and contributed to over ten books, including award-winning monographs on art collector and designer Alan Chan, and on architect William Lim's Asian design philosophy. She has also authored books on architect André Fu, on Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu, and on Beijing-based OPEN Architecture's most significant cultural projects across China.