Yabu Pushelberg design new fine-dining restaurant, Arbor
A new restaurant has opened in the heart of Hong Kong’s financial district, with interiors by Yabu Pushelberg
Known for designing luxury spaces including the Four Seasons and Park Hyatt, award-winning design firm Yabu Pushelberg has recently completed a new restaurant project, Arbor. Located in a gallery building in Hong Kong’s financial district, Arbor is a new French fine dining restaurant that blends Japanese ingredients with traditional French culinary techniques.
The residentially-inspired restaurant is warm and welcoming, “inflected with a refined rusticity” and split into a dining area and a bar area. High, dramatic arches can be found throughout the restaurant, and the design studio has used these to pronounce the divide between the dining area from the bar. Attached to some of the arches are open-weave metal mesh ‘gates’, which have been used to further separate the two spaces.
In the bar area, the design team has used a muted blush colour on the walls, pairing this with a sleek bar top and touches of teak and green. With high, arched ceilings also featuring in the bar, Yabu Pushelberg have tried to create a cosy, cocooning affect within the space; the studio also wanted to invoke a sense of curiosity in Arbor’s diners, by allowing them to look through the arches to peek at what lies beyond in the dining area.
In contrast to the bar area, the dining space has been designed to be lighter and more airy; the interiors have been finished with warm, soft textures in nature-inspired cream and sage, with wooden floors enhancing the natural, open look. The natural-inspired design touches throughout the restaurant are also complemented by Arbor’s menu, which was inspired by the forest and will only use seasonal ingredients.
Large windows look out onto the sprawling cityscape, lighting the dining area during the day. By night, the lighting is soft and indirect, providing an ambient glow throughout. Yabu Pushelberg has also chosen artisanal, hand-crafted details and bespoke elements for the furnishings throughout the restaurant, to create a distinct feeling for Arbor. In fact, furniture including the oak tables and the leather-bound, oak framed chairs were designed by the studio especially for Arbor, offering diners a sophisticated setting without compromising on comfort.
All images: Virgile Simon Bertrand
