Iconic Indian

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.”The lighting, music and atmosphere should all make you feel like you are not alone. We also needed some elements that represented the culture and the cuisine. And we didn’t want something that would be outdated in two year’s time,” Kwok said. 

Confronted with this brief, Leung created a space that he refers to as “contemporary, unique, sensational and timeless”. He started with a minimal, understated backdrop and then introduced bursts of colour in the form of furnishing and fittings.

Paintings, in particular, promote a colour scheme saturated with reds, purples and oranges. Set against swathes of light-coloured timber, the effect is rich, vibrant and opulent. “I studied Indian design, and I took some of the motifs from traditional Indian culture and simplified them,” Leung said.

When it came to seating, Leung adopted models from Usha’s predecessor in Dubai but played with colours and fabrics to give them a fresh twist. And, with repeat diners in mind, he created a range of seating options.

“If a customer comes in many times they can sit in a different location each time and enjoy a different ambience. This is important because we want repeat business,” Leung detailed. “This is not a traditional Indian restaurant. It is very chic and very trendy. Some elements are very unique and very iconic.”

Amongst its most iconic features is a vodka display – an innovative take on the traditional wine rack. To tie in with a menu that includes two pages of vodka choices, diners are greeted with a showcase of around 80 different vodkas from around the globe.

Lighting was another fundamental aspect of the design, Leung explained. “In a restaurant, lighting is very important. It is my philosophy that you don’t just go to a restaurant to fill your stomach. You go for the whole experience and lighting always adds to the ambience. You might have pre-dinner or post-dinner functions so you might need different lighting scenarios at different times. I always prefer to work with lighting consultants – and I especially like to work with Tino.”

“Lighting can make or break a project,” Kwan agreed. “You can spend a lot of money on furnishings and materials and so on, but if the lighting isn’t done properly, none of that will show properly. In Ushna, the lighting is used to enhance the space.”

Particular emphasis was placed on effectively illuminating art and artefacts. “Lighting design is very simple,” Kwan maintained. “Lots of people make the mistake of over lighting – putting light where it shouldn’t be. You can ruin a space by putting in too many lights.

“I like to play with light and shadows. A lot of people are afraid of shadows – but if there are no shadows, the place is flat. It is not about creating a lighting show. The lighting must become part of the interior or architecture. We don’t want people to say the lighting looks good, we want them to say: ‘Wow, the design looks good’.”

For Kwok, this is how Foodmark restaurants set themselves apart – by making sure that the details are all attended to. “In a restaurant, the most important thing is the detail,” he said. “And we put a whole lot of effort into the detail.”