Manhattan’s Upper West Side is not exactly known for its trendsetting nature, but a new Chinese eatery, Atlas Kitchen is making a stride with its unique confluence of east and west.
Inspired by one of China’s oldest myths, The Classics of Mountains and Seas, the restaurant’s contemporary design and cuisine is everything a typical Chinese restaurant is not. Shanghai and New York-based firm New Practice Studio, has carved the space into three distinct areas: taking centre stage in the main section is a mural, painted with Chinese ink on plaster, by artist Qiu Anxiong; this is followed by an area with a communal table, where an architectural framework festooned with greenery hangs overhead; and lastly, a private dining room that has horseshoe banquettes and exposed bulb lighting, where diners look out onto the main dining area behind draped curtains.
This comes together in a palette of blue, grey and brown that references ancient Chinese maps, while details such as floor tiles carved to resemble the shapes of mountains and the ripple-like curvilinear edge of the entrance’s awning to look like water, is completed by a comprehensive Chinese menu that draws from all of China’s eight culinary regions to thrill even the most jaded of diners.§
