A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

This Spanish Restaurant for Blood Alley, Please

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 fantasy.

(via) This morning I rewatched the City of Vancouver’s short video about the revitalization of Blood Alley and it got me thinking about this restaurant I’d recently come across while on procrastination safari…

WHAT IT IS: Casaplata is new restaurant and cocktail bar designed by Spanish architecture firm Lucas y Hernández-Gil. It’s refreshingly stark and utilitarian, not to mention functional.

Most of the tables – their soft pastels showing bright against the drab concrete walls and floors – can be moved about on wheels. Some of them are even perforated. And those high stools are cool AF.

I especially love the oft-repeated circle motif in the otherwise boxy space (mirrors, wall divisions, door portholes, halos, table tops), and that yellow table of six in the little nook looks like it would be a really unique place to get to know the cuisine of the place.

WHERE IT IS: On the Calle Amor de Dios in the Andalusian city of Seville in Spain.

WHERE WE WISH IT WAS: In Gastown, specifically the upcoming redevelopment of Blood Alley Square.

WHY WE WISH IT WAS THERE: We’d sooner have something interesting, independent and design-minded than a chain restaurant or something safe or boring here, which is what I worry we’ll be seeing a lot more of in the neighbourhood. Granted, Gastown already has two other Spanish-themed restaurants (Sardine Can, Tempranillo), but I’d welcome another if it was run well, tasted great and looked this good. What’s more, Casaplata’s spartan feel, naturally lit concrete, and bright splashes of colour appear to match/complement all of Blood Alley’s existing establishments (Salt Tasting Room, Gringo, MeeT, Tacofino). In short, it just fits!


photos by Juan Delgado

  • lucas-y-hernandez-gil-casaplata-restaurant-seville-designboom-1800
  • lucas-y-hernandez-gil-casaplata-restaurant-seville-designboom3
  • lucas-y-hernandez-gil-casaplata-restaurant-seville-designboom7
  • lucas-y-hernandez-gil-casaplata-restaurant-seville-designboom9
  • lucas-y-hernandez-gil-casaplata-restaurant-seville-designboom12
  • lucas-y-hernandez-gil-casaplata-restaurant-seville-designboom13
  • lucas-y-hernandez-gil-casaplata-restaurant-seville-designboom14
  • lucas-y-hernandez-gil-casaplata-restaurant-seville-designboom16
  • lucas-y-hernandez-gil-casaplata-restaurant-seville-designboom19
  • lucas-y-hernandez-gil-casaplata-restaurant-seville-designboom20-1
  • lucas-y-hernandez-gil-casaplata-restaurant-seville-designboom20

Blood Alley
Neighbourhood: Gastown
Blood Alley

A Hidden Wine Bar in Texas

The Hill Country Wine Cave is a stunner of a private (it should really be public) project recently built outside San Antonio.  

This Modern Coffee Shop Has Most of Its Inside Outside and We’re Fine With That

This Shanghai hideaway appears to challenge the accepted function of the neighbourhood coffee shop as a relaxed hangout.

Soak Up the Terracotta Vibe of This Valencian Cafe

Spain's Be Green Salad Company is all about its simple, bare bones terracotta hues and zigzag of built-in table plinths.

Cafe Inspired by Sun Setting on Faraway Monolith

The 323 sqft, barista-owned cafe brightens an otherwise drab corner in Hong Kong's Sai Ying Pun district.