(via) We love the tightly wrought, Jules Verne-esque nautical look of San Diego’s Ironside Fish & Oyster Bar. Designed by Basile Studio, the heavily detailed restaurant was over a year in the making in an industrial space that first saw action in the 1920s. The wall of 2,000 faux piranhas is a pretty awesome.
In a nod to the nautical, around every corner are design treasures with maritime roots. For example, at the highest point of the south walls, deep shelving niches loom over the dining room, mimicking the cargo hold of a vintage cruise ship, and artfully stacked behind custom fabricated ship railings with brass fixtures, is an array of antique luggage, old trunks, nautical tchotchkes and model ships in glass bottles. The handcrafted back bar showcases rectangular cabinets fabricated to look like boat hatches. The storage niches house the wide selection of spirits, which are enclosed by safety-glass doors and affixed with metal cleats that rotate to “lock” the doors shut in case of rough waters A solid copper replica antique diving helmet (reminiscent of the first scuba diving helmets from the turn of the century) can be found nestled in the glass enclosed raw bar ice bath. Boat anchor logos of various shapes and sizes are inlayed on the terrazzo-inspired concrete floor, whilst porthole accents are found in various fashions throughout the interior, including affixed to the restroom doors and at the base of custom sconces. A hand-carved wooden octopus oversees the bustling bar, with his tentacles entwined in the iron trellis while twin tusked-walrus’ flank either side of the bar.
We think it would fit well anywhere on Vancouver’s 22km of seawall…