KNRDY, an American style grill restaurant that focuses on high quality steaks just opened in the heart of Budapest. Located in the Bank district, KNRDY brings out an atmosphere of New York restaurants. The design concept centered on using the given characters of the space, living up to the history of the old building.
The base for the design was a high ceiling 250 square meter space partly encompassing the inner court of the 100 year old building. The most spectacular of the restaurant is the guest area, it can sit 40 guests. With its great glass portals it allows pedestrians to take a look inside. From the street one can see the cross-sectional view of the restaurant, through from the wardrobe, which is hidden behind the SICIS mosaic wall picturing a city view of New York, until the bar. Before entering one can take the pleasure by seeing the collection of chairs and tables from Tom Dixon, the red bar chairs designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and the classic lights by Artemide Tolomeo unusually placed above the leather benches.
Straight after stepping in customers can take a look at the selection of meat displayed in the glass cabinet, and then choose the ones to be tastefully prepared for a meal. Behind a glass wall, in the display kitchen, guests can follow the professional work of the international chef team and the high tech oven glowing at 800 Celsius. In the kitchen everywhere are acid-proof surfaces, strong lighting and spotless cleanness. The counterpoints of the light coming through the wide shop windows are the black and dark gray wall surfaces and the dark materials. The contemporary furniture looks more elegant in front of the plastered white and brick walls, which are slackly left at their original states, as the lights are more extraordinary directed on them. The unique atmosphere is created by the consciously used L iron structure through the whole of the restaurant. The functions of it however are different. Somewhere it is used just as decoration at other places as a holding structure. It is an emphasized element of the design, running from the wardrobe to the bar. The strong featured black iron straps on nearly all of the wall surfaces. Most dominantly on the restaurant’s central wall, as a fence in front of the photo of a New York fire escape. The designers intensified the special, a little bit industrial feeling, with the unique geometric wooden suspended ceiling above the guest area. It is beautiful and it also has its functions to hide the ventilation equipments and provides possibility to fix the lighting. The warm but clear oak parquet is surrounded by Mirage Herritage collection of gres tile surfaces bringing back the atmosphere of age old abbeys.
The lights were precisely selected moderate ball lights. In some places, they’re placed one by one and in others they can be found placed in a group, completing with the more extreme Foscarin – Diesel rubber suspensions. It seems as they light the place without any effort. Their forms are just as important as their functions. They are the perfect visual elements. The nicest example of all is the Chasen by Patricia Urquiola in the hallway of the washrooms and the huge Tolomeo floor lamp shining at the entrance in front of the glittering mosaic wall. The restaurant awaits its guests with a bistro milieu, where chairs, upholstered benches and tables are varied in many combinations.
