Delhi Streets is located within a new precinct off Flinders lane called The Archway. The precinct was curated for young entrepreneurs with exciting new food concepts, so the design needed to create a destination that would bring customers back. The site was an existing restaurant split into multiple tenancies where the restaurant took a double frontage.

In this project the designers were trying to capture the vibrancy and energy of the Indian street markets and streetscapes, with the dazzling billboards and signs. A lot of inspiration was drawn from Bollywood culture. It needed to feel relaxed and casual, but also have an element of fun.

One of the challenges was the low ceiling height and mechanical exhaust that runs the length of the tenancy. To minimize the effect on the interior, the ceiling was sprayed black so the focus was on the brightly coloured details of the walls.

The designers worked closely with the client to ensure the design allowed efficient workflow both for the staff and customers. The kitchen was designated first, with the cooking and food production line closely worked through. The idea was to have a relatively open kitchen where the traditional tandoori oven and meticulous food preparation was displayed. The seating area was then designed around this, and seating was split between street views, kitchen views and a banquette for larger groups.

The inspiration was the streetscapes of India, where there exists a mixture of rustic, weathered materials with more slick, glitzy and contemporary elements. The designers worked with reused brick and scrap metal, old Bollywood prints and advertisements, rough timbers and pops of bright colour.

As Brandworks also did the brand concept, they were able to work closely with the graphic designers to refine the colour palette for the interior; using the bright poppy colours as accents and features, and allowing more dusty muted tones to depict the landscape and background.

Showing the authenticity of the Indian food was an important feature for the client, so by having the kitchen on display the customers can watch as the naan is pulled out of the tandoori oven and dosa is made from scratch. This also links back to the concept of street food, where the food is cooked or prepared in front of you to order.

The lighting is simple using hung Edison bulbs throughout the main restaurant, LED strip lighting within the counter and downlights in the kitchen area. The exposed Edison bulbs suit the overall concept as they relate express the striped back and rough nature of design in India.

There were a number of options for applying bill posters to the walls, including framing, mounted or hung. To give the streetscape feel, it was decided to have them irregularly plastered on the wall to mirror the layered posters on city streets.

The hanging street signs are a quirky touch that give an element of surprise to the space. This feature was used to depict the various offerings of the store as well as allude to the havoc of Indian streets

The resulting design presents a cohesive concept of Indian street food in a modern style. Through the playful branding, bright features, worn materials, food theatre and surprising details, the restaurant communicates the energy and spice of Indian culture.