Gaspar restaurant - Istanbul, Turkey

After the success of his first restaurant Münferit, Istanbul-based chef Ferit Sarper has launched a new eatery located in the bustling district of Karaköy. Gaspar, with its menu of contemporary Turkish dishes, from broiled octopus with polenta to pasta with bottarga (Mediterranean cured fish roe), is designed by Seyhan Özdemir, Sarper’s wife and one half of the Istanbul-based design studio Autoban.

Anchored inside a century-old printing house - a beautiful neo-classical building with high ceilings - Gaspar unfolds into a double-storey space clad in a dynamic patchwork of plywood panels in different sizes and finishes. Playing with mathematical order, the backlit panels create a kinetic randomness on the walls. Interiors, inspired by the concept of the Cabinet of Curiosities, are furnished selectively with unusually contoured pieces that bring character to the space.