Header: Sean Litchfield
BONDST Hudson Yards is the second location for the BONDST restaurant, following its original site in NoHo, New York. The architectural project was led by Laurence GJones Architects, with Jeffrey Beers International responsible for the interior design. The interior team included Nora Liu-Kanter, Tim Rooney, Katie Gillespie, and Francisco Rocha. Furthermore, construction was carried out by Certified Construction.
The restaurant offers Japanese-inspired dining in three distinct interior spaces, ranging from casual seating near the bar to private dining rooms enclosed by sliding panels.
Layout and flow
The interior layout includes a central dining area, lounge seating, a fourteen-seat bar, a ten-seat omakase bar with an open kitchen, and two private dining rooms. Circulation between these zones remains open, allowing for a cohesive aesthetic across the space with several areas for varied group sizes.
Private dining rooms are enclosed with wood-framed sliding panels, providing separation without completely removing guests from the main space. Seating throughout the restaurant varies between smaller round tables, bar seating, and banquette arrangements.
Materials and interiors
The design uses a consistent material palette of wood flooring, dark wood furnishings, and upholstered seating. The designs of the ceilings alternate between exposed elements in the main dining area and a wood beam grid in the garden-inspired patio.
Suspended fabric panels were added to the ceilings in layered, horizontal groupings, which help with acoustic control and add texture without disrupting the openness of the space.
The private dining areas’ wall surfaces include patterned fabric panels and vertical wood screens. The designers used soft, indirect illumination to highlight these materials.
Lighting and atmosphere
Lighting throughout the restaurant combines pendant fixtures, backlit shelving, and recessed ceiling lights. The bar area uses illuminated shelving to frame the liquor display, while the dining areas are lit by a mix of pendant lamps, including teardrop-shaped fixtures and fabric-shaded lanterns. Bamboo planters line the perimeter in the garden patio area, creating a planted backdrop along the seating zone lit up by pendant lights.
Connection to the surroundings
The restaurant is located close to the Hudson Yards, which gives visitors the perfect views of the Hudson River. Seating placement and window positioning were critical to ensure this detail was fully taken advantage of, with the lighting and interior design helping bring in a sense of enclosure where needed.
