Delhi’s culinary icon Karim’s new outlet keeps its spirit alive though design

Design firm ma+rs looks towards Jama Masjid and the charm of Old Delhi to replicate the eatery’s essence in Bhubaneswar.

Curated by: Rupali Sebastian
Photographs: Arjun Krishna; courtesy ma+rs

The site

The site is a 2,000-sq-ft space located on the first floor of a commercial building in Patia, Bhubaneswar. A hub of eateries and restaurants, the locality is surrounded by colleges and offices and thus experiences a large footfall.

The design intent

“The history of Karim’s is legendary,” exclaim architects Anisha Menon and Sabyasachi Routray of ma+rs. “What we have tried to create is a modern and contemporary reimagining of the Old Delhi feeling using the colours, patterns, textures and materials seen around Jama Masjid dotted with elements of Islamic architecture.”

The spatial flow and material palette

The entry to the restaurant is through a large arched door, a portal into the contemporary reimagining of the Old Delhi ambience. Entering the space, you are greeted by a green beret-coloured wall with arched niches in marble stucco finish. From here, you can get a  glimpse of the dining space through the niches which display antique brass artefacts from the Mughal era. Walking past the green wall, the dining area opens out with three kinds of seating. Intimate booth seating is positioned near a glazed section overlooking the busy road through silhouette decals reminiscent of the façade of Jama Masjid. The pattern also creates a dappled light effect within the space. The seating is upholstered in a royal green velvet fabric. The central space has more contemporary four- and six-seater dining tables with custom-made teak wood chairs upholstered in tan leather and royal green velvet fabric with rattan back rest. Lastly, a long wall lined with minimal metal arches outline booth seating with a background of floral wallpaper. The grid ceiling is painted a brick red, and accentuated with brass and glass lights. Mirrors have been strategically used on walls and in ceiling panels to create an illusion of a larger space and volume. 

The highlights

The entire furniture ensemble was custom-designed and executed by the architects’ local team in Bengaluru, and then taken to site. First and foremost, the design team wanted the furniture to be comfortable and contemporary as well as be imbued with old-world charm. They achieved this by keeping the shapes/form modern but adding cane work as backing, using a regal velvet fabric and earth coloured tan leather, all reminiscent of a by-gone era.

The challenges

“Getting to work on a brand which has been around for more than a century was a daunting and challenging aspect,” declares the architect duo. “As designers, we were tested but also inspired by the idea of reimagining something so iconic in a present-day setting. More than holding us back, we think it pushed us to do our best to do justice to an institution.”

Fact file

Project: Karim’s, Bhubaneswar
Location: Patia, Bhubaneswar
Area: 2,000 sq ft
Principal architects: Anisha Menon and Sabyasachi Routray
Design team: Neethu Matthew