Since the recent opening of Japanese bistro Kinoya on Saint-Denis Street in Montréal, the Irasshaïmase salutes have not stopped in this izakaya, the Japanese answer to the tapas bar. Modern yet imbued with tradition, this little gem of Japanese cuisine deserved for its jewel case nothing but an unusually inventive design. Created by the talented designer Jean de Lessard, who had carte blanche for this project, the volumes and shapes of great simplicity are making this space shine with a total casual chic.
Although the interior stone and brick covering had to be kept, the metamorphosis is radical in this once darken place. “Any trace of the previous Italian restaurant with its huge pizza ovens has disappeared. One can now enjoy the show of performing Japanese chefs in their open kitchen ”, explains Jean de Lessard. Changes to the existing circulation axis, as well as the creation of new viewpoints with different ambiances have given the space an amazing sense of dynamism and fluidity.
(Click images for full size photos)
images © M David Giral
