New Georgian restaurant in Milan serves up bold design and great food
Gheama is a new Georgian restaurant in Milan with interiors designed by celebrated Tbilisi-based design practice Rooms Studio
Gheama is a new Georgian restaurant in Milan fostering good conversation in the company of great design. The space is the first restaurant design by Nata Janberidze and Keti Toloraia, the duo behind Rooms Studio.
The space is a study in compelling contrasts, with hefty, nouveau-medieval furniture, such as blocky black wood chairs and steel chandeliers, alongside whimsical, monochromatic touches like a torch-holding hand popping out from the wall. The result is a restaurant that feels like the stage set for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, if it were designed by a French modernist.
Triangle-shaped hanging lights and pedestal lamps by British designer Elliot Barnes sits alongside collectible pieces from Room Studio’s own ‘Wild Minimalism’ collection, which includes an oversized wooden chess table, steel chandliers, roomy black wood chairs carved with geometric patterns, and monochromatic tapestries that look like textile interpretations of Matisse's cut-outs.
From Janberidze and Toloraia's perspective, the restaurant is an aesthetic articulation of their experience growing up in Tbilisi, Georgia. ‘The idea was to create a meditative atmosphere,' say the pair, 'and a feeling of wholeness and oneness by using repeating motifs with Georgian aesthetics, simple shapes and raw natural materials.'
‘Gheama’ means ‘good for you’ in Georgian, and every aspect of the space – from its interiors to its food and regional wine – has been designed to create a warm, nourishing, and creative atmosphere.
‘As international as many variations of cuisine have become, this small nation's abundant traditions in the kitchen have been left untouched,' says Gheama's founder Irina Shengelidze. ‘Through Gheama, our guests will have a unique chance to get to know Georgia more closely. This will be a space for artists, photographers, designers.'
The restaurant opening was one of the highlights of Milan Design Week 2022. Say Janberidze and Toloraia: ‘We wanted visitors to feel part of a communal, social feast – Gheama is a Georgian supra with a Milanese twist.'
INFORMATION
Mary Cleary is the Beauty & Grooming Editor of Wallpaper*. Having been with the brand since 2017, she became an editor in February 2020 with the launch of the brand’s new beauty & grooming channel. Her work seeks to offer a new perspective on beauty, focusing on the pioneering personalities, product designs, and transformative trends within the industry.
-
Rado’s ceramic watches take inspiration from the world’s great gardens
New additions to the Rado True Thinline watch collection reinterpret exotic plants
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
‘Meaningful disruption’: Heron Preston launches L.E.D. Studio, a convention-defying creative hub
Part art and design studio, part sustainability practice, Heron Preston’s L.E.D. Studio builds on the world he has built at his eponymous New York City-based fashion label. Here, he tells Wallpaper* more
By Pei-Ru Keh • Published
-
Exploring Punta del Este, the southern hemisphere’s hub for art and relaxation
Punta del Este offers everything, from party to relaxation; all enveloped in idyllic countryside and a rich cultural offering
By Rainbow Nelson • Published
-
Discover the newest jewel on the Amalfi Coast
The Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel draws from traditional design codes
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Il Capri Hotel merges the traditional and the modern
A neo-Gothic Venetian-style palazzo is the home of Capri’s newest hotel
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
Qantas’ Airbus A350 cabins make non-stop to Australia a dream ticket
Explore Qantas’ slick new Airbus A350 cabins, designed by David Caon, including minimalist first class suites
By John Arlidge • Published
-
Venice beyond La Biennale: the ultimate 21st century international village
We tour Venice with architect, researcher and curator Federica Sofia Zambeletti, who shows us around Italy’s precious lagoon city – just in time for the launch of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023
By Federica Sofia Zambeletti • Published
-
Discover Samarkand and Bukhara: the Silk Road capitals of Uzbekistan
Architect Marwa El Mubark visits Bukhara and Samarkand, the Silk Road capitals of Uzbekistan, as the country launches its pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023, and plans a new art biennial for 2025
By Marwa El Mubark • Published
-
Kisawa Sanctuary aims to protect the Indian Ocean and its people
Kisawa Sanctuary, a ‘resort-to-research’ hotel, harnesses the power of luxury tourism to fund scientific projects
By Sean O'Toole • Published
-
‘Where To Now’: Zara and Wallpaper* launch offbeat travel guides
Zara and Wallpaper’s ‘Where To Now’ travel guides launch with five off-the-beaten-track adventures, from California to Naoshima, for armchair and actual explorers, available to buy now
By Simon Mills • Published
-
Cape Town: 8 things to do and see for the design-minded traveller
Cape Town is a capital of art, design, food and wellness; local resident Sean O’Toole on the best things to do and see, from a Bree Street meander to a Constantia wine route
By Sean O'Toole • Published