Oval restaurant by FlexoArquitectura: low cost interior design for top quality burgers.

A new restaurant interior constructed on a limited budget but nonetheless resourceful and imaginative within its programmatic and financial limitations. Oval consist of some 200 m2 situated on the ground floor of a late 19th Century building in the juncture of C. Valencia and Enric Granados in Barcelona, the left Eixample district. The area is gradually becoming a centre of gastronomic resurgence with Cornelia & Co., the recently opened Toto and the Futami Japanese restaurant all within a few hundred metres radius.

Specialising in burgers, the gastronomic offering is high-concept. Diners are presented with a questionnaire on arrival at their table, where they can create their very own burger, everything from the type of bun, the dressings, the sauces, the condiments and side dishes. The waiter service and sound system reinforce the high-end take on this, the most democratic of dishes.

Oval is also however a place where customers can have the first drink of the evening after dining, as it opens till 0.30 am during the week and an hour later at weekends.

Designed by Mallorca based firm FlexoArquitectura, the layout is divided into separate zones including a set back covered inside/outside smokers’ terrace at the entrance. The linear bar counter with a row of tables opposite defines the lobby with its oversized circular table at the entrance and the rear area with its mix of timber banquette seating and free-standing tables.

The kitchen and toilets are accommodated at the very back and within an annexe tucked behind the bar respectively.

The original 19th Century materials and character of the space form the basis for the refurbishment project. Four metre high ceilings, stripped back brick walls and uncovered cast iron columns are combined with more ephemeral finishes like untreated plywood panels, painted terracotta cavity insulation bricks and industrial acoustic panels on the ceiling.

The furniture and lighting are equally resourceful, with off-cuts from the timber tables combined with recycled chair and stool structures (sourced from Els Encants market) to provide the main seating which nevertheless manages to remain coherent throughout. Anglepoise lamps are cantilevered off a linear plywood shelf, conduits are exposed for wall lamps while suspended light fittings are provided over the tables at the rear. The industrial theme is reinforced by the polished concrete floor, the steel profile folding entrance doors and the air-conditioning ducts.

The owners researched the project in Los Angeles, California where the burger is revered as a genuinely autochthonous delicacy. The design incorporates distinctive graphics for the menus, careful food presentation on bamboo trays, warm lighting and a pleasant aural environment that at no point becomes invasive or distracting, an important aspect of a restaurant like this that required the correct acoustic insulation.

Photos: José Hevia