Restaurant Porn is a regular column of daydreams presented as a means to introduce Vancouver diners and designers to concepts, looks, and fully-formed ideas that they might draw an inkling of inspiration from. We do our best to pair the foreign rooms with local addresses so as to let everyone in on the daydream.
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(via) The Distillers Pub has been a London, UK fixture for nearly a century, hosting musicians, artists, and fans just around the corner from the legendary Hammersmith Apollo concert venue. It was recently refurbished and given a new lease on life by local design firm Concorde BGW, which neatly paid due homage to the pub’s past without being adversely enslaved by it. There’s much to love inside and out:
The interior has one eye on the unexpected with tables resembling piles of vinyl records, framed Lego band members on the walls and numerous nods to musical greats. Industrial vintage features, exposed brickwork and deep, soft colour schemes exude style with comfort. Outside, the garden bar is crafted from a vintage water tank, seating booths nestle in strangely cool garden sheds and giant party tables give new life to old metal factory doors.
References to the establishment’s musical past are everywhere, from birds in flight made from old LPs to classical cherubs emblazoned with the lips/tongue emblem of The Rolling Stones. We’d love if something similar landed in the old Electric Owl space on Main Street. It was licensed as a venue in its own right, and if I’m not mistaken, they had a little open garden space at the back of the old American Hotel property that was never used.