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) One of the cool things about all the new ice cream shops that have sprouted up in Vancouver over the last several years has been their diversity in design. From Earnest and Umaluma to Rain or Shine and Mister, they all look good. The new Milk Train cafe in London’s Covent Garden takes it to the next level, however, holding on to a theme and squeezing it for all it’s worth.

Designed by the FormRoom agency, the little Art Deco-ish shop draws inspiration from the golden age of train travel with steam ‘clouds’ on the ceiling, waiting room-style benches, period type faces, station mosaic signage, industrial metal detailing and beaded opaque glass that looks like the natural steaming of a passenger window. And those are just some of the more obvious nods to the theme. Interesting choice: leaving out any overt representations of actual trains.

If we could put it anywhere in Vancouver, I think either within a few steps of the Pacific Central Station or inside the voluminous Waterfront Station. The latter would be most appropriate on account of its 1914 architectural bones which suit the design perfectly. Either way, we’d definitely lay some suspended tracks from the ceiling and run toy trains on them.

– Photography by Paul Lewis –