Workshop Palm Springs: America's Top Restaurant Design

America’s top restaurant design has been named by the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards: Workshop Palm Springs by SOMA Architects. The neo-brutalist interior looks like HR Giger’s impression of heaven, with strict and symmetrical styling that is warm and inviting, not cool and off-putting. The interior centerpiece is a long communal table with hanging bulbs for light and local plants as table accents. Flat black leather booths echo on either side of the central table, providing personal dining for a more intimate experience. Exposed rafters on the ceiling make for a religious-inspired emotion, in effect making this restaurant a temple of great food and excellent company.

While the design is serious, the dishes served at Workshop are rich, bright and playful. This feeling is shared by the restaurant’s outdoor patio, where relaxed dining and drinking is encouraged for when the mood strikes. The building’s Mediterranean Revival roots feel right at home in the desert environment of Palm Springs, and the patio at Workshop provides a very Palm Springs experience.

With a short glance at these images, it’s easy to understand the allure of SOMA’s design and why it ranked high in the eyes of the RBDA. It is a clear stand-out amongst the new restaurants in 2013, one that represents a lasting design that will age well with the culinary goals of Workshop Kitchen and Bar. [via trendland]

View in gallery