The Restaurant & Bar Design Awards category for The Americas region this year received over 75 entries, which were painstakingly shortlisted to the top 10 list below. Entries from Canada, United States, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica were received.

Designed by 
Studio Munge Alibi is a dazzling new 3,000 square foot, full-service cocktail lounge that pairs classic elegance with modern luxury to celebrate the convergence of premium spirits and imaginative cocktails with bespoke opulence. The open concept layout features lavish finishes with warm jewel tones, and rich fabrics to juxtapose the lounge’s wrapped wood furnishings. The main bar features a decadent imported granite stone top with nickel and brass accents.

An historic house, built in 1929 Casa Cavia, Argentina was renovated to retain the intimacy and residential quality of the historic space and blur the divisions between the programmatic elements; restaurant, shops and garden.
 One of the biggest challenges facing Kallos Turin was respecting and preserving the original architecture by Alejandro Christophersen, while sensitively modernising it. The modern additions reference historic materials and trades: white and green marble, brass, antiqued mirror, detailed leather and terrazzo.

MOB estudio & Sama Arquitectos wanted to create a concept for Chapulín that could evoke Mexican culture without being cliché. Offering the best of Mexican cuisine to people from all over the world the project was a collaboration of handcrafted elements and traditional techniques to capture the essence of a traditional Mexican restaurant in a more contemporary and universal way. A rich combination of textures and materials, colourful geometric patterns as well as wooded floors and ceilings welcome guests.

Current (United States) is a tribute to the client’s passion for luxury and cutting edge architecture.
 Meyer Davis Studio created intimacy within the open plan with a modern ‘oyster’ characterising the rear of the restaurant. Current is a playground for unique and eye-catching materials, energetic colours, and sleek finishes. Asher grey striped stone flooring is paired with black Moire style screens, layered with white stitched wall upholstery. Cool finishes are balanced by warm tones and playful furniture.

Hueso (bone) Mexico is a restoration of a 1940’s building. Inspired by a Darwinian vision, the interior skin covers almost every vertical square inch of the interior with over 10,000 collected bones from animals and plants mounted on wooden layers, mixed with objects and cooking tools and intervened by urban visual artists. 
Cadena + Asociados took a double skin approach to the design, so the exterior has a handmade ceramic tile covering, with a graphic approach protecting the inside skin layer which becomes more organic and full of texture.

Izakaya Kinoya in Canada draws inspiration from a pub in Japan, while also exploring the notion of intimacy. 
Jean De Lessard made use of fractal geometry and broken lines to amplify the confinement narrative, thus blurring our perception of time and reality between the outside world and this chaotic enclosed space. Reused barn wood was selected for its durability, flexibility and acoustic absorption while the glued-laminated technique used for the installation insures a perfect finish.

Le Sam Bistro Évolutif is a modern, approachable environment, yet is still aligned with Château Frontenac’s heritage and historical grandeur. Lightly drawing upon the hotel’s unique history as a destination resort on the Canadian Pacific Railway, Rockwell Group were influenced by vintage train cars, while plush and luxurious furniture and mixed metal details recall the Art Deco and Jazz Age. Sumptuous materials and finishes, including leather, brass, and wood in muted hues of blue, brown, and grey provide a fresh point of view for the property.

The long narrow nature of Madera in Mexico is celebrated with a dramatic linear ceiling. Columns are clad in smoky mirrors to virtually disappear. Playful round banquettes overlook the dining room and gardens beyond, while whimsical light fixtures lend a moody, musical undertone.
 Hirsch Bedner Associates provided a variety of seating types to accommodate guests’ various preferences.

Mourad in the United States is based on taking elements of traditional Moroccan design and abstracting them in a modern interpretation while paying homage to the art deco skyscraper whose ground floor Mourad occupies.
 Lundberg Design evoked memories of Marrakesh through the use of mosaic tile, patchwork rugs, perforated metal, flow through rooms, and twinkling lights. The shell was stripped, revealing a 19ft high space, and exposed granite, concrete and steel that provide a perfect contrast to the refined finishes inserted into the historic framework a celebration of old and new.

Times Square Diner is a new casual dining venue in the heart of Manhattan, designed by 
Bluarch to invoke softness and warmth through colours and materials, with the familiarity of a living room. The walls are entirely encased in wood, with delicate curvilinear forms clad in green linen offering light and shade. The result is a modern but warm venue, recognisable as a diner while transcending the expected sterile and unadorned environment of this kind of establishment.

View each of the shortlisted entries on the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards site using the links below.

Times Square Diner (United States) 
Bluarch

Mourad (United States)
 Lundberg Design

Madera (Mexico)
 Hirsch Bedner Associates

Le Sam Bistro Évolutif (Canada)
 Rockwell Group

Izakaya Kinoya (Canada) 
Jean De Lessard

Hueso (Mexico) 
Cadena + Asociados

Current (United States)
 Meyer Davis Studio

Chapulín (Mexico) 
MOB estudio & Sama Arquitectos

Casa Cavia (Argentina)
 Kallos Turin

Alibi (United States) 
Studio Munge

Images © Respective Studios