Photos: William Kalengkongan

It is not everyday that one encounters a restaurant with an interior design that cleverly combines stripped-down industrial chic with lavish textural elements and accents, but Wilshire Senopati Restaurant, designed by Jakarta-based Einstein & Associates, pulls off this unique combination effortlessly, proving that, sometimes, opposites do attract.

Conceptualised as a casual dining restaurant, the Wilshire, located in Jakarta’s pop-up urban district, Senopati 64, provides fresh gourmet Californian fusion fare in a setting that is decadent and cosy at the same time. The design of the restaurant almost outshines the food itself, with the creativity of the design team at Einstein & Associates coming through in an interplay of strong and soft design elements that the principal architect at Einstein & Associates, Leo Einstein Franciscus, calls “masculine and feminine.”

“The overall concept blends sleek and posh industrial design elements,” explains Franciscus, “There is a contrast in the design between the masculine and feminine sides; yet there is still middle ground to balance the two that creates a unique sense of warm and cosy ambiance, crucial to the “Wilshire Experience.”

Immediately upon entry into the restaurant, the richness of the materials, both in their textures and colours, is evident throughout the space. Steel and copper dictate a commanding presence and provide an anchoring point in the main dining area with a sculptural arrangement of hanging galvanised, steel and copper pipes. In a continuation of the industrial theme, the walls in the dining area are finished with a combination of metal and black steel panels, with Edison industrial filament bulbs suspended from the ceiling above the dining tables in rhythmic patterns.

As a counterpoint to the industrial theme, the design team at Einstein & Associates chose to soften the masculine elements with traditionally feminine accents. Floral table top tiles, crystal chandeliers and blooming flowers placed strategically throughout the space soften the more utilitarian industrial features for an unexpectedly effortless final look.

The design team also put careful thought into the lighting of the restaurant, viewing lighting fixtures as a unifying element behind different interior components. “Because the restaurant is dominated by dark colours, crystal chandeliers are used to create a more elegant ambiance and serve as a centre point of the restaurant lighting,” says Franciscus, “Additionally, we chose to use industrial filament bulbs that, when dimmed at night, change the masculine ambiance to be more warm and cosy.”

With Einstein & Associates’ bold approach, the final result of experimentation with opposing design elements is a restaurant that is anything but casual in its interior design. The overall experience at the Wilshire is, at once, refined and relaxed, highlighting the restaurant’s gourmet dishes, while bringing a touch of cool Californian vibe to the Indonesian market.