German Gymnasium London by Conran and Partners is Officially the Most Beautiful Restaurant in the World
This is easily one of the most beautiful and elegantly designed restaurants that I’ve ever visited, unfortunately I wasn’t able to eat there at the time as I was on a busy schedule. A couple of years ago when I was in London, the staff were kind enough to allow me to have a look at the beautiful interior outside of serving hours. And it is an absolutely beautiful interior. When I am next in London near King’s Cross or St Pancras stations, I might have to pop in for food or more likely need to make a table reservation. Just look at how stunning it is…
German Gymnasium – The Interior by Conran and Partners
The German Gymnasium Restaurant is located between King’s Cross and St Pancras railway stations in London, German Gymnasium was originally constructed in 1864 for the German Gymnastic Society of London. It was the first of its kind in England and the very first venue to host England’s National Olympic Games.
Conran and Partners were commissioned to create a “glamorous yet democratic contemporary European Grand Café” to complement the new King’s Cross master-plan, and transform the Grade II-listed building into a unique cafe and fine dining destination. Their design concept is a refined elegant modern insertion within the existing building space; a “Bauhaus version of a European Grand Café.”
The very talented designers worked very closely with landlord Argent’s base build team and their architects Allies and Morrison to ensure preservation of the building’s core structure, whilst making the necessary interventions and adaptations to prepare it for its new life as a sophisticated hospitality venue.
The main spatial design concept for the interior was to reinstate the first floor ‘viewing’ gallery (that was previously in filled to make a solid first floor in the 90’s for office space) to allow for dramatic impressive views of the stunningly glamorous bar, all of the dining areas and most importantly the breath-taking and eye-catching original roof structure.
It was very important to keep as many original historic features of the building as possible. Therefore many of the building’s unique original historic details, including; the climbing hooks in the ceiling and cast steel columns, have been retained. These set the tone for the choice of materials, colours and textures for the rest of the new interior detailing. Warm, walnut timber panelling and black and grey distressed leather upholstery have been juxtaposed with the fresh, contemporary insertions such as the occasional pink and red tones to add depth and visual interest to the beautiful interior. Thus creating little bursts of sophisticate accent colours around the space.
Refined Beauty and Sophistication – Officially the Most Beautiful Restaurant in the World
German Gymnasium were the winners of an international Restaurant & Bar Design Award in 2016 – and the prize for the most beautiful restaurant in the world went to an stunning restaurant come grand cafe in central London. German Gymnasium which is a European-inspired restaurant, and was voted the Best Overall Restaurant in the Awards, which were set up to recognise stunning design in food and drink spaces internationally.
If you would like more information or would like to make a dining reservation, which I would strongly recommend, please visit the German Gymnasium website.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, this is easily one of my favourite restaurant interiors and I adore the design that the highly talented designers at Conran and Partners have produced. It is refined beauty and sophistication in its purest form.
Restaurant interiors are one of my most favourite spaces to design. As well as offering residential interior design Leamington Spa, , I also offer a commercial hospitality interior design service which includes; restaurants, hotels, bars and retail. So if you have any type of commercial or residential interior design Leamington Spa projects, or anywhere within the UK, please feel free to contact me for more information.
