A popular all-day brunch spot in Toronto‘s emerging East Chinatown district for quite some time, Lady Marmalade has added more incentive to drop by with its brand new interior design. The neighbourhood has been touted as the city’s hottest new place to watch, and gentrification is catching up fast. But that could also be a good thing as the diner’s new location proves. The interior design, created by local architect Omar Gandhi in collaboration with SvN, also led to a slight modification of the building’s red brick façade—a large front window opened up the premises, providing passers by a glimpse of the understated design. Meanwhile at the back, a modest addition provides extra room for the kitchen and dining areas. Measuring 1,600 sq.ft. (149 sqm.) across two elongated and narrow floors, the chosen design codes have added a new spatial dynamic. Next to the new front window, existing floor plates have been carved away to draw even more natural light to even the most interior spaces in the restaurant. The exposed beams that span the restaurant are a nod to the past, hinting at the existing floors that have been since been removed.
Light-hued Baltic birch covers walls and fixtures throughout the restaurant on both levels, and is offset by the lush green of wall-mounted potted and suspended plants and brass accents of the light fixtures. The flooring of small grey tiles is modest and allows the design’s wooden element to shine. The first and second levels provide seating for patrons and include a double-height private dining area at the rear of the building. The kitchen is located at the rear of the building on the first floor and maintains the same openness of Lady Marmalade’s previous location where patrons can catch a glimpse into the inner workings of the restaurant. The open mezzanine contains an office for the owners of the restaurant where they can enjoy the atmosphere of the space from the privacy of their workspace. Lady Marmalade seats a total of 54 guests, and presents an all-day brunch menu of tasty breakfast bites, salads, bowls, sandwiches and savoury tortas.
Lady Marmalade
265 Broadway Avenue (East Chinatown)
Toronto ON M4M 2G8
Telephone: +1 647 3517645
Daily 9am-2pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
