Fun. Relaxation. Friendship. Family. These words were the inspiration behind Keiji Ashizawa’s minimalist lines and warm tones of Grillno, a new restaurant that recently opened just outside of Tokyo

In the commuter district of Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, newly opened Grillno is an intimate restaurant that specialises in smoked and grilled dishes. ‘It’s run by one of my old friends,’ says Tokyo-based Keiji Ashizawa, whose studio Keiji Ashizawa Design is behind the interiors. Ashizawa is also the founder of Ishinomaki Laboratory and a long-time collaborator of wooden furniture manufacturer Karimoku.

‘We wanted to create the atmosphere of a restaurant with good cuisine and comfortable interiors. To achieve this, we tried to use rough materials and worked with expert craftspeople,’ he says. Central to the friends-focused concept is an open kitchen that runs along the smooth grey lines of a long concrete counter with perfectly curved ends, created by a specialist plaster craftsman.

The colour palette is soft and contemporary, with industrial concrete cleverly, if unusually, complemented by the textured, tangled surface of wood-wool cement board that covers walls. ‘It’s a non-flammable material and it helps with acoustics,’ Ashizawa explains. ‘It’s actually one of the cheapest boards, but you don’t usually see it as it’s normally hidden under another surface.’

The contemporary lighting furthers the sense intimacy. Above the counter hovers a minimal horizontal line of steel crafted by the metalwork studio super robot (where Ashizawa formerly worked). Elsewhere are light-scattering sconces plus the sharp metal lines of a pendant bulb above a table, by Nara-based New Light Pottery.

The lines and curves of the interior space are echoed in the seating, which consists of black wooden chairs by Tokyo-based design duo Drill Design for Time & Style. ‘I like these chairs because they create a sociable atmosphere and they have character,’ says Ashizawa, who also designed the recently opened Karimoku Commons Tokyo, Karimoku’s new multilevel showroom in the Nishi-Azabu district.

A sense of timeless simplicity is evoked by the finishing details — from a ceramic bowl and a wooden ball placed on two books in an alcove to the geometric lines of an Ishinomaki Laboratory poster on the wall, by graphic designer Tomoya Kaishi.

The restaurant, which currently seats 26 diners, serves dishes such as oysters and scallops pickled in smoked oil, Iberico pork collar skewers and grilled salmon with grated daikon. And true to Ashizawa’s intentions, it’s a space that is as intimate as it is relaxing.

Text / Danielle Demetriou
Images / Tomooki Kengaku