Iconic Indian

As part of CID's Abu Dhabi focus, we take a look at a recently completed project in the emirate: Ushna.

An online review of Ushna, which opened at Abu Dhabi's Souq Qaryat Al Beri earlier this year, makes an eloquent assessment. "The ambiance lends itself to a lingering meal," says a satisfied customer. Music to any restaurant designer's ears.

Ushna is the third collaboration between Hong Kong-based interior designer Steve Leung and lighting designer Tino Kwan, and Foodmark, the F&B arm of the UAE's Landmark Group. The trio first joined forces for Mango Tree, a Thai restaurant at Souq Al Bahar in Downtown Dubai.

Heading slightly further afield, their next project was a Chinese restaurant in Beijing. "We've completed three restaurants with Steve Leung and Landmark. It's been a different cuisine, a different concept and a different place each time," said Tino Kwan, principal consultant, Tino Kwan Lighting.

For their latest collaboration, the trio was tasked with shaping a contemporary Indian eatery owned by the Landmark Group. Coincidentally, Ushna was the first Indian restaurant that interior designer Steve Leung had ever worked on, in spite of his three decades of industry experience.

The Ushna brand already had a presence in Dubai, so Leung wanted to build on the existing restaurant to create a ‘sequel' of sorts. "The Dubai project was done very successfully so we wanted to maintain the main themes of the first restaurant," he explained.

"I tried to recreate some of the original elements, to make sure that the new restaurant was in harmony with the original design. But no designer wants to just transfer a design without any creative effort. Essentially, this is the second generation of that design. And, like a sequel to a good movie, it is always difficult to follow something up."

The aim was to create something that would truly capture the attention of the UAE's experienced diners, said Paul Kwok, CEO, Foodmark. "You need to give people the ‘wow' factor in this country."

At the same time, it was important to create a space that was accessible, and that was contemporary but not void of cultural reference. "When people come to a restaurant, even if they are the first people there, you don't want them to feel like it is empty or intimidating.

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