Best Design of the Year: A (Silver) Tie

NO DESIGN GOLD THIS YEAR. We saw many pretty rooms bedeviled by sound or traffic flow problems we just couldn’t overlook. We did like the looks of two silver winners that did more with less: Gastropod keeps things clean and simple, blonde wood and sage paint, with a glowing light-pod over the bar its singular showy gesture. Even the terrazzo bar, judge Marc Bricault points out, is quietly elegant and immaculately executed (seamless, as it was poured on site). This imbues us with the quiet confidence to become adventurous diners.

Salt Tasting Bar flows with quirky personality, down to its wall-size chalkboard of charcuterie, cheese and accoutrements. It relies on the character of the exposed brick walls, concrete floor and especially, the slight frisson of its bold Blood Alley location in Gastown—which the restaurant’s front window frames rather than shying away from—to do most of the talking. The sole punctuation of colour is a fire-engine red Berkel hand meat-slicer; the focal point is a giant Traulsen cheese fridge humming behind the bar. Bare bones simplicity is its strength according to judge Alda Pereira. Maybe our attraction to small, simple spaces this year betrays our hunger for more quality neighbourhood restaurants. More like this please.

Joeys scores bronze points for raising the bar on the aesthetic of casual fine dining with its west coast mod interior. The mix of textures and materials—from banana-coloured patent banquettes to a tequila sunrise-coloured tile mosaic over the open kitchen—is eclectic and fresh. (But really, Joeys management: Steely Dan on the speakers, big-screen TVs…must you?) The cabana bar is architectural vernacular we’d love to see more of, though Alda Pereira couldn’t shake a carport-induced 1950s motel exterior, and access from the street is a bit obscure.

Our other bronze goes to the Arabian Nights-themed Sanafir, a towering and sexy room full of cozy booths and secluded lounging beds scattered around a well laid-out, two-level space. Flickering candles, glowing lanterns and sensually curved cove lighting is terribly flattering for eye-flirting over champagne. Be warned: the filmy organza drapes and silk cushions do little to stop raucous cocktail and dinner banter from bouncing off the glittering tile and wooden screens. But air kisses to Sanafir for bringing the feeling of grown-up fun to the Granville nightlife strip.

An honourable mention to Tojo’s new serene street-level location. The gleaming, muscular open kitchen taking up virtually half the footprint tells diners how serious this sushi temple is about food.

Thanks to our judges: Marc Bricault of Bricault Design, Alda Pereira of Alda Pereira Design and Charlene Rooke, editor of Western Living magazine.

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