Tibits opens London outlet

Swiss vegetarian restaurant Tibits opens its first UK outlet today, on London’s Heddon Street, designed by Swiss architect Oberholzer & Bruschweiler.

The £1.5m design-led restaurant offers fresh juices, seasonal produce and salads served from a concrete ‘food boat’, which the architect calls the ‘focal point’ of every Tibits restaurant. Each outlet is redesigned every two years.

Oak veneers, seamless flooring and contemporary lighting create the signature look, already seen in the four existing Tibits restaurants in Switzerland.

London’s Designers Guild has provided fabrics and wallpapers from its Autumn 2008 collection, inspired by the Baroque and Rococo extravagance of opera houses.

Pearl-and-bronze prints were  commissioned by Wohn-In interior design consultants for Designers Guild, to contrast against the berry and moss tones of the wallpaper.

Tibits owner Reto Frei says he wanted to create a ‘generous space’ with a strong sense of light, for the Heddon Street store, enhanced by the building’s glass shop front.

A second UK Tibits franchise will open at the end of this month at London’s new Westfield shopping complex.