“The mood is French New Wave and Italian Modernism,” says Léo Terrando, SJB director and project leader. “The cinema of the 1950s was both revolutionary and a revelation. Inspiration is taken from cinematography legends Francois Truffaut, Jean- Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette.”

“It is the sort of place you would feel comfortable having a coffee in the morning, going back for steak frites at lunch, and returning for something more substantial for dinner,” says Léo Terrando. “The design has enough options that you could go back five or ten times and have a completely different experience each time.”

Details such as intricate mosaic flooring and a concertinaed screen of large photographs from ‘Playtime’ add layers of complexity to the design and reveal themselves gradually. SJB’s design incorporated the Flos KTribe Wall lamp designed by Phillip Starck in 2007, providing a diffused light over the tables.