Could Beirut‘s often hailed reslience be captured by a restaurant? Well, we’d like to think so. The recently opened Father & Bun restaurant sits tucked away in street near the harbour, only a few hundred metres away from the horrendous explosions in 2020, which wreaked havoc, many casualties, and massive displacement. The new presence of this design-led dining establishment seems exemplary of the Lebanese capital’s innate zest for life and sense of style, helping it to regain its effervescence. Occupying 150 sqm. (1,615 sq.ft.) spread across two levels of a mid-20th century building, and directly opposite renowned Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh‘s sculptural, 13-storey apartment complex, Father & Bun aims to please savvy Beirutis with good food and an alluring setting. The interior design is a collaborative effort of architecture practice A130 and Mo Alghossein, creative director at both Father & Bun and branding agency Interesting Times.
The original premises required quite a few adjustments as a dominant structural column, a challenging mezzanine and stair layout, and a main floor almost a metre below street level needed serious tweaking. Additionally, the building owner insisted that an existing double-height stone wall could not be altered. Interestingly, this very wall became the conceptual anchor of the interior design. The lower half of the aforementioned stone wall is encased by backlit timber wall panels, forming an eclectic yet warm backdrop for Father & Bun‘s bar and seating area. The bar, built in steel and featuring a green counter top, also boasts embedded shelving in a bright red hue, adding an unexpected pop of colour to the predominantly demure use of hues.
All furnishings and fixtures are custom-made and locally produced, a deliberate choice to support Lebanese artisans in the wake of the country’s current economic crisis. An elongated bench lining the side wall, in addition to a circular equivalent around a support pillar, are upholstered in mustard yellow fabric, while chairs and bar stools are clad in brown leather and green fabric. Mind you, the ceiling was left raw, but paired with foam panels, installed by specialist 21dB, to improve acoustics. As for lighting, renowned design practice PSLab created a light system that’s both functional and decorative. A floor-to-ceiling fresco by artist Habib Khoury which depicts a compelling scene which, we can imagine, incites guests to ask staff members about its meaning. The menu at Father & Bun lists comfort food, such as a signature hamburger, and steak and fish options, paired with french fries or dips, fresh salads, desserts, and obviously, a string of cocktails. © superfuture
Father & Bun
rue Darwiche Haddad (Gemmayzeh)
1104 Beirut
Telephone +961 3 698198
Daily 6.30pm-2am
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.
