Nevertheless pierogi joints are a dime a dozen in the Polish cash, one particular of Warsaw’s most iconic streets, Krakowskie Przedmieście, lacked a fast-informal location that served the country’s well-known dumpling dish till Syrena Irena opened its doorways. Supplying handmade pierogis, the same notice and treatment compensated to the food items itself has been extended to the new bistro’s interior, built by graphic company Mamastudio and architecture firm Projekt Praga.
The restaurant’s concept was very simple: a modern day spin on traditional Polish cuisine. Luckily, the designers identified loads of inspiration in the historic setting up where by Syrena Irena now resides. Initially a resort café in the 1950s, the house was replete with basic information, which includes arched home windows and intricate mouldings.
Projekt Praga and Mamastudio have up to date the inside with vivid pops of color — introducing a modern day aesthetic while retaining the building’s outdated-entire world allure. “We preferred to integrate the brand’s boldness into the inside whilst sustaining the two the simplicity of the culinary principle and the ethereal room,” the architects describe.
Mamastudio intended the restaurant’s brand identity by taking cues from the aesthetics of the Polish College of Posters and from Warsaw’s nightlife in the 1960s. In holding with the interior’s relationship of earlier and existing, the firm settled on the legendary Mermaid of Warsaw — a image that dates back to 1390 — to provide as the restaurant’s mascot. A collaboration with illustrator Ola Sadownik, the emblem was designed to mimic a retro minimize-out, together with “expressive and somewhat clumsy” typography.
Diners are whimsically welcomed at the swift-assistance counter, where by a vibrant blue bar and mosaic checkerboard flooring make a daring statement — and foreshadow the restaurant’s aquatic topic. Higher than, a neon gentle set up casts an electric powered purple glow, alluding to Warsaw’s energetic club scene.
The restaurant’s signature siren, pierogi motifs and other thematic graphics have been integrated into its branding and interior, introducing pops of playful pink that are thoroughly balanced by muted greige all through.
Conserve for a wallpaper mural of Herbert James Draper’s Ulysses and the Sirens, the eating space can take a additional delicate technique. Drawing from the rational layout language of Polish modernist architecture, bespoke graphic tables and steel accents anchor the area, when mid-century-inspired seating, milky glass sconces and blonde herringbone flooring include contemporary style trends.
Regardless of the dining room’s evident simplicity, no element has been left unconsidered. Even the neutral metal railings — which at very first look fade into the track record — are a riff on the shape of scales, like those people identified on the tail of the restaurant’s mascot mermaid.
Even though Syrena Irena promises pierogis that rival your babcia’s, its layout is evidence that honouring tradition doesn’t have to be boring. With its daring use of colour and regard for classical things, this significant-style bistro will enchantment to diners of all generations.