Project Team

interior design: Luchetti Krelle

Suppliers

lighting: Inlite, JSB, Euroluce, Kezu
furniture: Kezu

Set within Sydney’s new ‘The Star’ complex in Pyrmont, the brief for momofuku seiōbo was to create a space that reflected the momofuku ethos, with simplicity and attention to detail at the core of the design.  The kitchen is the hearth and makes David Chang and his chefs at work on their craft the main focus of the intimate, 36 seat restaurant.

The restaurant is protected from the bright lights of its busy address with a rigid, vertical black steel shopfront. With equal spacing of the steel members, the facade has dynamism across its length, revealing flickers of light and activity from the interior for pedestrians as they move by. A bronze peach pinpoints the entry. This formal, yet playful, facade is met with the warmth of the materiality of the interior.

On entering momofuku seiōbo, guests are immediately transported from the busy complex into a serene, dark and moody space with a palette of rich, yet restrained materials. An open working bar horizontally clad in dark stained Tasmanian Oak with a large, purpose-built wine fridge is positioned towards the entry to the restaurant, as a book-end to the dining room.

Luchetti Krelle has designed flexibility into the small, narrow dining space allowing patrons to dine at individual tables, adaptable to large or small groups, with operable blinds that are architecturally lit to divide the space and create further intimacy.

At the edge of this dining space is the Kappo counter, a shining hub of activity under a reflective bronze metal bulkhead.  Here, patrons can engage with the chefs’ work and the activity of the state-of-the-art, Molteni kitchen. Discreet lighting integrated into the metal finish overhead pools light onto the dark timber counter to highlight the diner’s position and the dishes that are to be served.

The Kappo Counter and bar are positioned upon board-form concrete, lit to accentuate their position and importance in the room. The room’s slate flooring is reminiscent of momofuku ssäm bar and Ko in New York and, along with an expansive, smooth concrete-rendered wall, provides a restrained backdrop for the dining experience.  A momofuku commissioned artwork by photographer Damien Bennett dresses the concrete wall. Deep and dark blue ripples soothe and remind patrons of their Sydney context.

Against this backdrop of rigorous and detailed design is an homage to Angus Young, which reminds guests that while David Chang’s work is revered, the momofuku seiōbo experience is meant to be quirky and light-hearted.