Located in Belgrade, Serbia, Embers Restaurant is a combination of different cuisines in its menu and different materials in its interior design. Mostly featuring Central Asian and Middle Eastern dishes, its design is rather minimalistic and casual allowing dishes to be the brightest part of its interior.
Even though the project was finished relatively recently—at the end of 2023—Embers has already become an award-winning restaurant by triumphing in the Interior Design Restaurant – Casual category of the LIV Hospitality Design Awards. Developed by Freya Architects studio with the lead designer Kristina Koivistoinen-Khatlamadzhiian, this is the restaurant where cultures are mixed together even in the design. For example, hundred-year-old tiles were found in a Serbian village, while hundred-fifty-year-old bricks in the walls were found in some destructed Serbian houses.
That’s not all there is to Ember’s multiculturalism. As this restaurant is focusing on oriental cuisine, you can see ancient oriental carpets hanging on the wall as a part of the restaurant’s decor and another element of antiques that this restaurant is proudly showcasing.
However, it is not all relics in here. The light-wooden furniture in the restaurant represents the modernity and fits neatly into the interior with its rough-looking elements. Additionally, the lighting system adds brightness to the place and creates a certain contemporary aesthetic.
The building where the restaurant is located is part of the city’s history itself, as it was built in 1958—over 60 years ago. The original concrete walls were revealed by the design team, showcasing its different textures—from smooth to ribbed—completing the avant-garde look of the restaurant.
