Red Deer Architects Design Mid-Century Pasta Restaurant for London Institution Lina Stores.

London-based architecture practice Red Deer have designed the interior for Lina Stores at 51 Greek Street – the first restaurant from the famous Italian deli. Working collaboratively alongside the owners of the pasta restaurant, Red Deer have devised a contemporary dining experience which connects the ground floor open-kitchen bar with the downstairs restaurant.

The design team have reimagined many recognisable stylistic elements and materials of London’s Soho institution, like the pistachio-green colours and white Brewer Street namesake to create an evocative setting for the 53-seat 113-square-metre eatery.

“The original Lina Stores opened in 1944, and we didn’t want to duplicate the design with this restaurant,” explains architect Lionel Real de Azúa. “We looked for visual cues with the original deli that we could bring over to 51 Greek Street”.

Drawing inspiration from the Art Deco cafes and European bistros, the restaurant façade features an intimate 4-seat exterior bar seating, a traditionally inspired mosaic floor, hand-painted signage and a striped awning. Pale green cement tiles, granite and fluted glass add a contemporary touch.

Inside the restaurant and bar, there is a mix of dining-height and high counter seating. Upon entering, the ground-floor restaurant is a raised 12-seat mid-century diner characterised by a sleek Formica bar with fluted aluminium detailing, concrete bar top and pale green leather bar stools.

In contrast, walls and ceiling have purposely remained untouched, with the rawness further enhanced by utilising exposed brickwork, piping and ventilation and a highly texturised unique plaster mixed with leftover ground coffee beans from the Lina Stores deli. “As a practice, re-use is of great importance to us. For the design of Lina Stores at 51 Greek St, we reclaimed where we could and played with the innovative repurposing of materials”, explains Real de Azúa.

Striped white and green floor tiles take guests on a journey to the lower-ground floor and a more formal 37-seat dining experience. The colour palette of muted warm green and aqua hues runs throughout the lower-ground restaurant alongside rich dark timber and classic white. Materials have been utilised to differentiate various areas and function. Flooring is a mix of traditional green and white terrazzo. Bespoke Carrara marble and aluminium tables are paired with reclaimed Formica dining chairs and fixed tiled green banquettes with leather seat pads.

[Images courtesy of Red Deer. Photography by Mariell Lind Hansen.]