When the lease of the beloved Porto Maltese seafood restaurant in Kyiv changed hands, the new owners spotted an opportunity to change direction and slake the increasingly global thirst of Kyiv’s talking classes.
The result eschews the rustic in favour of something far more cosmopolitan; local architects YOD Design Studio have taken the Asian-inspired brief and run with it, creating a visual melting pot that incorporates elements of East and South-East Asian culture into a coherent whole. The energy of an open kitchen takes centre stage, but interesting details abound; a sleek granite bar references the sunken bars of Japanese izakayas, and an exposed wine cellar allows diners to peruse vintages over an appetiser or two (the popcorn tiger shrimp is excellent). Meanwhile, tabletops have been carved from polished Javanese palm, lending a welcome touch of the tropics to the interior.
While wine is one of the restaurant’s strong suits, we can’t resist the collection of aged Japanese whisky, expertly blended into one of the bar’s signature Manhattans.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Vasilkovskaya Street, 72
-
Futuristic-feeling Southwark Tube Station has been granted Grade II-listed statusCelebrated as an iconic piece of late 20th-century design, the station has been added to England’s National Heritage List
-
David Shrigley is quite literally asking for money for old rope (£1 million, to be precise)The Turner Prize-nominated artist has filled a London gallery with ten tonnes of discarded rope, priced at £1 million, slyly questioning the arbitrariness of artistic value
-
The new Bentley Supersports pares back the luxury to create a screaming two-seaterBentley redefines its iconic grand tourer with a lightweight performance variant that strips out the trim and the tech and adds in refined dynamics and more visual drama than ever before
-
Has the ice cream parlour come of age?A global wave of architecture studios is treating the scoop as spectacle, turning parlours into immersive social spaces
-
Ukrainian restaurant Sino adds to London's diverse food culture with warming traditions that feel familiar yet newPronounced see-no, the new Ukrainian restaurant in Notting Hill, by Polina Sychova and chef Eugene Korolev, is built on the intimate relationship between people and nature – offering beauty in simplicity
-
London restaurant Tatar Bunar puts Ukrainian heritage front and centreFamily recipes and contemporary design merge at this new east London restaurant by Ukrainian restaurateurs Anna Andriienko and Alex Cooper
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico -
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland -
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia -
KLoé Hotel — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -
Casa Hoyos — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
