Located in New York City’s Lower East Side, this restaurant design for Dirt Candy reflects chef Amanda Cohen’s playful and theatrical approach to vegetarian cuisine. The Turett Collaborative worked with the client to develop a larger second location for the restaurant, translating the energy and identity of the original space into a more expansive and open environment.
At the center of the design is an open kitchen positioned within the dining room, reinforcing the idea of cooking as a form of performance. The layout allows guests to engage directly with the preparation of food, creating a more interactive and immersive dining experience. Structural beams and columns were left exposed and incorporated into the design, forming the framework that supports the kitchen and surrounding seating.
Surrounding elements are kept intentionally restrained, with exposed brick walls painted white to serve as a backdrop for a mural of wildflowers, bringing color and visual texture into the space. The result is a restaurant that balances openness and focus, creating a setting where the process of cooking becomes central to the experience of dining.