CLIENT: Bincho Yakitori Ltd

 

BRIEF: To create a modern Isakaya style restaurant specialising yakitori and kushiyaki – skewered meat, fish and vegetables grilled over traditional binchotan charcoal. The restaurant concept requires the theatre of an open kitchen with dining counter as well as a traditional seating area.

 

STRATEGY: Working with chef and business partner Dave Miney, Dominic created two different models for the business; one based on a small footprint, high volume counter-driven operation and also a larger, more traditional restaurant format with 80 seated covers. The design brief combined traditional Japanese elements of wood, stone and fabric with a very contemporary feel. The use of natural materials and specialist lighting allowed the venues to have a completely different atmosphere in the evening to the daytime. Service ware and decorative items were imported directly from the Far East, and genuine yakitori grills were sourced to lend authenticity to the signature skewer dishes.

 

RESULTS: Bincho Yakitori launched their first site on the second floor of the Oxo Tower on the South Bank and followed this with a second venture in the heart of Soho. Critics were quick to praise the innovative and lively concept with excellent press reviews from Fay Maschler, Jay Rayner and Marina O’Loughlin.