F&B at Great Scotland Yard, London
Restaurant / UK / HBA Dubai & HBA London / Completed in 2019
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Upon entering Great Scotland Yard inquiry room reception, guests are greeted by two desks crafted from antique luggage. The hotel entry steps down into the lounge, leading to an assemblage of social venues where a parlour, bar, restaurant and club room coexist in the company of a carefully curated collection of works by British artists.
The Yard, a modern British restaurant, transports guests to a comfortable countryside escape with barrelled ceilings, vintage lamps and millwork from Northern Ireland. Inspired by The Imperial hotel in Delhi, The Parlour is a warm setting for afternoon tea or cocktails with its classic colonial feel, black-and-white checkered flooring and oversized fireplace.
Hidden behind secret doors disguised in bookshelves is a portal to Sibín, Great Scotland Yard ‘s lucrative whiskey club. Whiskey-filled display cabinets sculpt the club into three spaces, rolling along the copper-leafed distressed wood floors, whilst a bar sits at the epicentre beneath a ceiling feature made of 1,935 bottles. The bar and lounge, The 40 Elephants, is named for the 19th and 20th century all-female London crime syndicate known for its longevity and skill in dodging police detection. A stunning glass chandelier composed of a series of broken glass pays tribute to the way the female gangsters would break into London-area stores. Buried in the centre of the installation is a jewel-tone necklace representing the members of the Forty Elephants gang. HBA designers further conveyed the spirit of the thieves through glass-engraved portraits hanging high on the walls.
