Hospitality Design - January/February 2012 - 96

dark brown woods and white marble, accented by timber floors with marquetry, leather furniture, and mouth-blown, purple chandeliers. “We aimed to create a restaurant that is relaxing and intimate, with a simple design,” Koizumi says. At Megu, traditional Japanese materials such as stone, wood, and fabric abound in the space’s five dining areas, but to echo the restaurant’s New York location, they are applied in a contemporary way. Massive lacquered fretwork screens cover the walls in the main dining room, and kimono panels (from antique frocks) line the private dining room. A symbolic custom-made, rock crystal Buddha and a large bell suspended from the ceiling “also act as significant icons to add a mysterious mood in the restaurant,” explains Koizumi. DesignWILKES principal Jeffrey Wilkes and senior designer Sirajul Fahmi Bin Muhamad describe Jamavar as a “power room for modern day maharajahs.” Fittingly, entry is through a regal pair of gleaming brass doors. Like the Jamavar restaurants in other Leela hotels, this location highlights the Indian tradition of paisley, executed here in gold, silver, and champagne leaf, set on

From above: Lacquered fretwork screens, a large bell suspended from the ceiling, and a custom-made crystal rock Buddha are some of the Japanese-inspired highlights of Megu; its private dining room is wrapped in panels crafted from vintage kimonos.

ivory plaster paintings at either end of the main dining area. Elsewhere, adding to what Wilkes calls Jamavar’s “understated, simple luxury,” are marble accents, “a creamy stone with silver taupe swirls,” he says; hand-tufted, chocolate carpet; champagne gold wall panels; rosewood timber paneling; leatherclad banquettes; velvet tufted chairs; bespoke, multi-level, crystal chandeliers; and enormous bronze mirrors. A house of glass with an open stainless steel kitchen, the Qube (named after its shape) offers guests views of the Leela Palace New Delhi’s lawn and lush gardens. “Our brief was simple: create a dynamic, clean, contemporary, multi-cuisine restaurant that caters to buffet breakfast and lunch, and a la carte dining in the evenings. Think MoMA meets Delhi,” says Wilkes. To achieve this, he and Muhamad have kept the palette muted and masculine, with splashes of mandarin orange provided by glassware, floral arrangements, kitchen glass panels, and lighting. Two stainless steel squares, one inside the other, float from the ceiling, uplighting a series of suspended, beaten metal dishes above. “It is all about light,” Muhamad points out. “The reflective charcoal terrazzo floor, the mother of pearl panels, the glass walls of the cube itself, the fire in the water beyond, the ceiling above—it is a box of sparkle that moves the eye from one surface to the next.” hd www.ds-spin.com; www.designwilkes.com; www.theleela.com

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - January/February 2012
