- Project: Lerouy Restaurant Renovation
- Architect: Hot Design Folks
- Location: Singapore
- Year: 2023
- Area: 220 m2
- Photography: Marcus L Photography
The Lerouy Restaurant Renovation by Studio Hot Design Folks reinvents one of Singapore’s most acclaimed Michelin-starred dining destinations. Led by designers Evgeniya Lazareva and Farhana Sudiro, the new 220 m² space elevates Chef Christophe Lerouy’s distinctive carte blanche French cuisine with an interior concept that blends minimalist industrial aesthetics, theatrical staging, and touches of understated luxury. Conceived as both a stage and a dining room, the renovation aims to create an experience worthy of earning a second Michelin star.
Project Overview
Lerouy has moved into a new shophouse location, defined by the typical Singaporean long, narrow layout without windows. This presented both a design challenge and an opportunity: to create an interior that feels expansive, immersive, and atmospheric despite the spatial constraints.
The design strategy sought to:
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Highlight the open show kitchen as the stage of the restaurant.
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Create an ambiance that is neutral, warm, and minimalist, with industrial undertones.
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Employ mirrors, bronze finishes, and reflective surfaces to expand the visual perception of space.
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Enhance guest experience through custom details, layered lighting, and luxurious textures.
Concept & Atmosphere: A Culinary Theater
The restaurant unfolds as a theatrical journey:
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Entry Lobby & Bar: Guests enter through a compact 1.5-meter lobby leading to an intimate vaulted bar for 4–5 people. Its curved ceiling recalls the wine cellars of the chef’s childhood in France.
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Main Dining Hall: Tables are arranged facing the open kitchen, much like an audience before a stage. Diners watch the “culinary performance” as Chef Lerouy and his team prepare dishes in real time.
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Design Backdrop: The interiors are conceived as a backdrop for the performance — cohesive and harmonious so no single element dominates.
Touches of glamor — velvet drapes, marble furniture, and accent lighting — enhance the otherwise restrained minimalist palette.
Materials & Finishes
The renovation emphasizes a refined selection of materials to achieve elegance within restraint:
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Beige pearlescent plaster walls provide warmth and depth.
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Bronze checkerboard wall panels behind the kitchen add geometry and sophistication.
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Travertine plaster ceilings enhance acoustics and visual continuity.
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Large-format serene stone tiles ground the floor with calm tones.
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Natural marble and leather furniture deliver custom luxury.
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Velvet drapes soften acoustics and introduce theatrical flair.
Throughout, the contrast of matte and reflective finishes creates dynamism, balancing minimalism with vibrancy.
Lighting & Reflections
Light plays a central role in shaping the dining experience:
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Accent lighting highlights the culinary stage while ensuring a comfortable atmosphere for diners.
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Mirrored bronze elements visually expand the narrow shophouse layout.
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Subtle ambient lighting harmonizes the rhythm of dining with the beat of electronic music favored by the chef.
Secondary Spaces
At the far end of the restaurant are the wine cellar, restrooms, and technical kitchen, each designed with continuity in mind. Warm beige tones, pebble-textured walls, and bronze metallic details echo the main dining room.
Elements such as bronze door handles, metallic lamps, and pearlescent vanity finishes reinforce the consistent design language, ensuring that every corner contributes to the cohesive atmosphere.
Experience & Narrative
The renovated Lerouy is both minimalist and dramatic. It is minimalist in its restraint and lack of distraction, ensuring that food and performance remain central. Yet it is dramatic in the way it choreographs dining as an immersive theatrical act, where textures, lighting, and space combine to amplify the artistry of French cuisine.
As interior designer Evgeniya Lazareva explains: “The interior design is conceived as a backdrop for the show kitchen. All elements harmoniously blend with each other, forming a balanced composition, much like the dishes from chef Christophe Lerouy.”
The Lerouy Restaurant Renovation by Studio Hot Design Folks is a sophisticated reimagining of a Michelin-starred dining space in Singapore. By weaving together industrial minimalism, theatrical staging, and discreet luxury, the design enhances both the culinary and spatial experience. More than a restaurant, Lerouy is now a culinary theater, where every detail — from bronze accents to velvet drapes — amplifies the chef’s artistry and the guests’ immersion.
