ABOUT

Located within Fotografiska, the internationally renowned Swedish photography museum, iconic chandeliers announce the restaurant with their glow through the grand second-floor arched windows of the late 1800’s Flemish Renaissance Church Missions House. The windows of this historic building define the space and dictate the layout of the restaurant. A salvaged stained glass window that was removed from the rear facade to make way for an elevator, was restored and used in the bar as a backdrop for a moody landscape mural.

Once diners travel through the warmly lit bar, the space opens up to a tall and bright dining room with plaster walls and reclaimed oak flooring. Materiality was an inspiration for design, with cast bronze and beveled glass doors custom-made for the wine room, luxurious marble slabs in the restrooms, bar floor and bar top, hand-made tile on the ceiling, and patinated metal sheets separating the kitchen and dining spaces. The museum’s incredible contemporary photography collection lines the walls in a rotating display.

A private member’s club was also designed within the adjacent former church space. The labyrinthian entry sequence below the church mezzanine was based on the imagined confessional spaces when it was in use.The triple-height raw wood trusses create the framework for the original stained glass transom that lets in ethereal light during the day, and keeps the space moodily lit at night. An antique baroque crystal chandelier is suspended from the trusses, and an Aesthetic Movement etagere was refinished to use as the back bar shelves.