Kush is a restaurant franchise by Michelin-starred chef Aktar Islam. It serves classic Indian street and restaurant dishes in a casually upscale urban environment. The brand is a deliberate antidote to clean, derivative and boring. Because this chef is a pioneer, not a follower.
The Brief
While the UK still has a love affair with the food of the Indian subcontinent, the landscape is vastly different from that of the glory days. The new reality is that if your restaurant is to stand up, then it has to stand out. This has been proven by the successes of brands such as Dishoom, that fuse a unique proposition with broad appeal.
Aktar Islam and his team wanted to create a unique style combined with recognisable elements in preparation for rolling out nationwide with a franchise model.
The Challenge
The key challenge for the space were to deliver a high-end look and feel within budget constraints.
From a design perspective, we wanted to consider implementing recognisable elements for the brand that were also totally unique with the ability to be replicated for franchisees.
We also had to refrain from becoming a cliché Indian restaurant brand.
Our Solution
You will notice colour that is mainly used through lighting and patterns in the soft furnishings. Unique elements that we wanted Kush to own.
Richard Hambleton, the Canadian-American graffiti artist was a source of inspiration for splashes of graffiti throughout the design, symbolising the chef owner’s move from ‘painting on canvas’ at his first restaurant, Opheem, to ‘graffiti on walls’ at Kush. This approach compliments the need for broad appeal.
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