London & South East

Assado

 

Assado, Hampton by Hilton Waterloo, Cyrus Todiwala

Situated within Hampton by Hilton Waterloo, Assado is fantastic new restaurant from Cyrus Todiwala, the talented chef and owner of Café Spice Namasté. Assado opened in March 2014 and presents an intriguing menu which combines Portuguese cuisine with Indian influences.

Although housed within a hotel, the restaurant is more than an extension of Hampton by Hilton’s facilities. Whilst the hotel’s breakfast sitting is served within the restaurant up until 11am, Assado is very much a standalone restaurant therein after and attracts guests from all over the capital. The restaurant had a soft opening in February, providing services primarily to the hotel, before opening its doors to the general public in early March.

Award winning practice designLSM is the interior and brand identity design architect behind Assado. The practice has been in operation since 1988 and provides interior design, architectural and branding services for a range of clients, from hotels and restaurants to bars, retail units and residential properties.

The designLSM team has been pleased to know Chef Todiwala for many years and previously worked on projects together. On Assado, designLSM worked with contractor McAleer & Rushe who were also responsible for the hotel build.

Speaking to Premier Hospitality about the design of Assado, designLSM Associate, Clare Devlin, said:

“One of the most significant design challenges for us involved working around the existing branding. Hilton by Hampton has a heavily branded breakfast offering, with a breakfast area that incorporates a lot of white. Come 11am we needed the restaurant to appear different, so we introduced an area which can be screened off with panels, to aid the transformation.”

Guests enter Assado via a main entrance off Waterloo Road and are immediately greeted with a retail offering, presenting a range of treats from Chef Todiwala in addition to a ‘grab-and-go’ take-away option.

Clare commented:

“The whole idea of Assado was built around the concept of a casual and approachable restaurant. We wanted the cooking to be on display, so we included a large counter with an open kitchen in the middle of the restaurant, whilst to the left is a seating area, with a wall of foods and a collection of handmade Spanish tiles – highlighting the international influence. On the right hand side, we introduced informal seating to the area of the restaurant where the breakfast service spills out into, creating a space that works throughout the day.”

Assado, Hampton by Hilton Waterloo, Cyrus Todiwala

The stand out feature of Assado is a bold, turquoise resin floor, which brings a genuine vibrancy to the restaurant. In keeping with this dynamic theme, the ceiling is decked out in a strong yellow, whilst neutral whitewashed timber panelling provides a balance to the powerful pops of the colour.

Clare said:

“At first everyone was a little dubious of the strong colour choices, but once they saw the restaurant the team were completely sold on the idea.”

designLSM were delighted to be chosen for the interior design and branding of Assado and it is something which Clare was personally thrilled to be a part of.

Clare said:

“Being involved with this project was brilliant and I love what I do. You create an idea, design it up, see it finished and then watch people enjoy it – there’s really nothing better.”

Cyrus Todiwala

From humble beginnings as a Bombay baker, Cyrus Todiwala has steadily grown into a force to be reckoned with when it comes to adding a dash of spice in the kitchen. World renowned, the chef has worked in some of the world’s best restaurants and has cooked for many international dignitaries.

Cyrus Todiwala OBE is not only one of the country’s most celebrated industry chef’s he is fast becoming a household name too, thanks to his appearances on TV and radio. Chef Todiwala regularly crops up on BBC One’s flagship show Saturday Kitchen, whilst on the radio he has often been heard on Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live.

In addition to his restaurants Café Spice Namasté and Assado, Chef Todiwala has concocted a range of pickles and chutneys which have been carefully developed to tingle the tastebuds of curious cuisine connoisseurs. The tasty treats include a mix of vegetarian and meat pickles, alongside a selection of mouth watering cooking sauces.

For more information about Cyrus Todiwala, or to purchase his delicious pickles and chutneys, please visit: www.mrtodiwala.com.

 

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Roma Publications