The renaissance of a sentinel of the London dining landscape, Manzis was a bastion for intrepid tourists, media moguls and those seeking ‘extra-marital secrecy’ for nearly 80 years.
With no photographic documentation of the interior remaining, we turned to the author Chris Bell, who wrote the book ‘Memories of Manzis’ which interviews historic patrons of the old restaurant, recounting their descriptions of lavish golden statues of Poseidon, displays of burnished plastic bread, red gingham table cloths and mermaids on every surface.
Notably, the author documents one memory of a particular old couple reminding him of the ‘Leuchtags’ from the film Casablanca, so we explored this insight and bought the rugged white washed walls and palm frond aesthetic from ‘Rick’s Cafe’ into our work.
Murals from Ernest Hemmingway’s ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ cascade across the staircase as you are greeted on the first floor by four bronze mermaids holding up our martini bar.
We embraced the chintz, the hedonism and the nautical leanings to have a lot of fun bringing this subversive and playful interior to life for our client.
Bio Fabled Studio is an award-winning international interior design studio based in London and founded in 2011 by Tom Strother and Steven Saunders. Fabled Studio specialises in Luxury Hospitality, F&B, Residential and Retail design. Fabled Studio are storytellers, each project is deeply cinematic and provocative, rich in detail and context to engage and enthral their audience, and to add substance to every part of the urban landscape they touch.
Other prizes Restaurant & Bar Design Awards 2022 MiMi Mei Fair – WINNER in the ‘Colour’ category Restaurant & Bar Design Awards 2014 Beagle - WINNER in the ‘London Restaurant’ category AHEAD Awards 2020 Hart Shoreditch Hotel - SHORTLISTED in the ‘Hotel Newbuild’ category AHEAD Awards 2020 The Lobby Bar at One Aldwych - SHORTLISTED in the ‘Bar, Club or Lounge’ category
