Volcanic Volumes: Gota in Madrid by Plantea Estudio.

Madrid’s Justicia barrio is a glittering tapestry of swish boutiques, neoclassical buildings, nightclubs, bistros, and tapas bars, of which most are remarkably modern in design. Plantea Estudio’s latest project is the exception. Designed like a dark and monolithic cave, the wine and small plates bar is situated on the ground floor of a neoclassical building—but it might as well have erupted out of a volcano.

The restaurant doesn’t give too much away, at least not at first. The main door opens into a 70-square-metre bar area, where a made-to-measure chestnut counter—fitted with an in-built turntable—stands sentinel, cutting a sharp contrast to the charcoal floor.

A Half-Local, Half-Global Restaurant in Madrid by Plantea Estudio.

This Peruvian restaurant is spread across two floors of a classic corner building in Madrid. But it is anything but classic—and anything but Madrid...

Along the walls, gleaming round aluminum tables and square birchwood stools by Danish design brand Frama, take pride of place, offering patrons a casual spot to sink into an appetiser or swing down a tipple. Alabaster sconces by Siete Formas and small lamps of unknown origin seemingly levitate along the walls and shelves, serving as otherworldly additions to the volcanic setting.

Behind the counter, a selection of wine bottles, vintage vinyl records and other music-related novelties signal a promising mix of music and moonshine.

In a World of Its Own: Her Melbourne by Dion Hall.

It's hard to walk past Her Melbourne without stopping in for a drink. The Music Room on level one is conceived as a ‘speaker box’, or a room as an instrument...

A short corridor connects the bar area to the dining room, where heavy granite ashlar walls—some exposed, others disguised behind plaster and grey lime paint—conjure a cave-like aura. One wall morphs into a bench, while another reveals a jagged red brick effect that disappears into the vaulted ceiling. A 10-centimetre-thick granite table by Plantea Estudio takes centre stage, illuminated by an alabaster lamp by Santa & Cole. Aluminium Tasca chairs by Frama and smaller birch tables of the studio’s own design complete the setting.

The floor has a special significance. It channels the deepest charcoal, courtesy of black volcanic stone tiles which, per the studio’s founders Lorenzo and Luis Gil, allude to a “newly discovered terrain.” Indeed, for patrons who step inside, the allusion holds true, time and time again.

Nota Blu Marbella in Málaga by Astet Studio.

This brasserie features a foldable facade that blurs the line between the interior and exterior, making a case for atmospheric dining no matter the season...

[Images courtesy of Plantea Estudio. Photography by Salva Lopez.]