Local studio Ménard Dworkind has outfitted an irregularly shaped Vietnamese restaurant interior with blue and white mosaic tile and yellow accents in Montreal.
Le Red Tiger is in a slanted storefront in Montreal’s Shop Angus district– the restaurant’s second location.
The design works to preserve the lively spirit and energy of its predecessor, which opened in 2015 in the Village neighbourhood.
Montreal-based Ménard Dworkind helped create a warm, festive background for the immersive culinary experience where over 100 guests can dine on cuisine inspired by Vietnamese street food and a selection of cocktails.
“The idea was to let restaurant goers bite into what Le Red Tiger is serving and take a trip through Vietnam, no airfare required” co-founder Guillaume Ménard told Dezeen.
The interiors blend utilitarian necessities – like the exposed chrome duct work – with vintage touches to evoke nostalgia.
“Le Red Tiger’s interior design strikes a perfect balance between modernity and vintage charm.”
The custom-made ceramic mosaic floor creates a sense of movement with blocky zig-zags in light blue and black on a white background. Meanwhile, black walnut furniture and flooring bring vintage warmth to the space.
The lime plaster and beige square tile walls fade into the background as a neutral element.
The restaurant makes the most of its small, irregular footprint with platform dining spaces raised above the main floor. The multiple layers add both depth and perspective to the dining area.
An open kitchen runs along the party wall, allowing guests to interact with and watch the bartenders and chefs in action, while more kitchen prep space is sequestered to a back-of-house room.
Above the yellow-accented bar on a walnut-wrapped bulkhead, hangs an orange neon sign that reads “càng đông càng vui” — the more, the merrier — as a nod to the restaurant’s Vietnamese roots and philosophy of dining together.
The centre of the plan features a long, angled community table made from British Columbia fir. Paired with industrial-style stools, the table invites guests to socialize and share under the suspended Asian lanterns.
Light sage green and bold yellow doors play off the pale blue in the floor, which wraps up the wall for a 180-degree patterned surrounding in the hallway and restrooms.
Continuing the trend of combining muted tones with bold colours, a soft coral-coloured banquette runs opposite the bar, wrapping the back corner of the raised dining space, where a built-in planter provides an organic relief from the geometric interiors.
Combining multiple types of seating with varying textures and specific accent colour is a signature of Ménard Dworkind restaurant interior work.
The studio has completed multiple other Montreal dining spaces including a mirrored Italian restaurant with leafy planters, a retro coffee bar with teal booths and checkerboard flooring, a French restaurant with custom wine storage and an acoustic inlay ceiling design and a New York-style pizzeria with white pine and green wall treatments.
The photography is by Alex Lesage.
Project credits:
Architecture: MRDK
Design team: Guillaume Menard, Fabrice Doutriaux
Contractor: Group Manovra
Ceramic floor tile: Daltile
Lighting: Herman Miller Humanhome
Furniture: Keca, Jussaume
Fabric: CTL leather
