Botai

The inspiration for this bustling restaurant came from the initial brief itself. It was to be serving South Indian cuisine with a new, reimagined spin to it! That itself became our starting point to explore what we could do with the knowledge we had about South Indian design elements. We wanted to present them in a way that would make it not fit into any specific genre yet be very grounded in its ethos.

The functionality of the space here has been key as the owners were already restauranteurs running successful bars and cafes themselves and together we wanted to make sure the flow of the areas were seamless and easy to use both for the guest and the service team.

The earthy yet luxurious feel of the space starts right at the entrance with the cutwork jaali staircase treads and screens that are inspired by terra-cotta breeze blocks. You land onto an area that doubles up as an open reception and a space where they can sell their in house bottled goodies. You walk into the outdoor area first with a green herringbone tiled floor meant to feel more in tune with nature even though you’re smack in the middle of the city.

The piece de resistance created by a collaboration of artists by Kartik Krupanand, is the concrete and fiber glass wall that ties the whole space together with its meaningful motifs related to the name ‘Aidu’ which means FIVE. You will find depictions of the obsolete 5 paise Indian coins and we also put some sunglasses and a naughty glare and expression on a traditional South Indian ‘dishti bomma’ meant to protect one from the evil eye!

The main door to the space also has been designed to have 5 organic looking wooden ‘hands’ that depict the 5 senses and the fact that you eat with all 5 fingers when you relish a South Indian meal. As you walk indoors, multiple types of seating allow you to choose your vibe whether it be on a large sofa or corner tables or large family tables that can be joined together in the center. Various elements remind you of South Indian architecture and crafts, be it the coffered ceilings with the jasmine flower mural, the wooden wall panels that are inspired by wooden louvred windows or the fun interactive partitions with traditional ‘muggu’ motifs that can spin when you touch them.

The bar backdrop is a grey herringbone to offset the green floor from the outdoors and bring the pattern inside. Even the washrooms have little touches of traditional fabrics framed on the wall with terracotta patterned ceilings (an ode to mangalore tiles) to add some drama.

The colors of green, mustard and terracotta have been very specifically chosen to make the theme of the 5 South Indian states come alive. The lighting has been meticulously planned with multiple options of direct table top lighting, subtle concealed lighting to highlight the ceiling murals and the bar backdrop or the wall panels or the up-lighting chandeliers that accentuate the coffers.

The outdoor lighting is a lot more subdued as it feeds off the indoor lighting coming through the windows.

All in all, We’ve tried to ensure that the space captures a certain vibe, warmth and coziness while you sit down to enjoy a meal with the family or a romantic cocktail night for 2.