Fauno Restaurant

A Small-Big Project

This gourmet restaurant is located in Porto's Historic Centre, in a building previously rehabilitated by our atelier. The programme adapts to a two-storey space (ground floor and basement) with large openings onto the street but with very limited depth.

Turning this difficulty into an opportunity, the project designs a longitudinal and multifunctional bar counter extending along the back, covered by a rear mirror, doubling the space's depth. The detail of the draped wooden bar front and the black iron tube bar cabinet mark the dominant colour palette in the interior.

The major contrasts are established in the green colour of the facade frames but especially in the design and colour of the handrail surrounding and defining the access staircase to the lower floor. In bright red, its circular profile iron tube “unrolls” along the space, inviting us to descend this black marble staircase and discover the floor. Here are the restaurant's restrooms and the service access to the kitchen.

This small-big project created the right place for a chef to develop his culinary mastery: after a year, the “Fauno” restaurant became part of the Michelin Guide 2024. As is often said, the success of an architectural work largely depends on good clients.