Experience Joie De Vivre at Claudine
At Claudine, London-based Nice Projects has fashioned a striking French restaurant within a former chapel. Taking cues from the visual language of traditional brasseries, the handsome hideaway is intimately connected to its lush setting in Dempsey Hill
Image by Hosanna Swee
Located in a former 1930s Ebenezer Chapel, Claudine is a contemporary French restaurant helmed by Julien Royer, the chef renowned for fine dining establishments Odette in Singapore and Hong Kong’s Louise. Sacha Leong and Simone McEwan of Nice Projects — Leong worked with Royer on Odette — have given the hallowed halls a new lease of life while keeping original features like the lancet windows, wrought-iron grilles and mosaic tiles. Taking cues from the visual language of traditional brasseries, the duo has conceived a handsome hideaway that’s intimately connected to its lush setting in Dempsey Hill.
As you step through the doors, the first thing that catches your eye is a 15-metre-long custom-made Santa & Cole light feature that snakes through the room. Set against the soaring ceiling, the lambent feature not only conjures a sense of spectacle but anchors the sprawling dining hall, which is bookended by the bar at one end and the open kitchen at the other. ‘We sought to bring the datum down with this signature piece so that the cosiness of space comes through,’ Leong says.
Complementing the sinuous lighting is a gabled roof that’s washed in an earthy red, including its original beams. This is the designers’ masterstroke in managing the room’s scale, deftly realising Royer’s vision of a neighbourhood restaurant that brings people together on all occasions — whether it’s a first date or a family gathering. ‘When I was young, Dempsey Hill was an enclave where families would have brunch on Sundays,’ Leong recalls. ‘Similarly, we wanted to create a convivial space where guests feel welcomed and relaxed.’
The restaurant’s warm atmosphere is realised through an array of dining zones, each with a set of furniture that caters to different guests: plush velvet banquettes can be transformed to fit twelve, while Adea armchairs at the bar create a sense of intimacy. Scalloped timber screens punctuate the hall, providing guests with a touch of seclusion while they soak up the buzzing ambience.
Above the sand-hued banquettes at the perimeter sit two-metre-tall panels of pressed grass — an installation that takes inspiration from the Dutch artist Herman de Vries. Nice Projects worked with botanical design studio This Humid House to create the site-specific artwork that uses mostly indigenous plants. The effect not only mirrors the verdant surrounds of Dempsey Hill but is a nod to the restaurant’s loyalty to its neighbourhood and the sylvan pastures of Royer’s hometown in Cantal, France.
Claudine’s service staff bring a whole new dimension to the open kitchen. For example, certain dishes are given their finishing touches at the table on custom-made carts for guests to watch. Their hospitality pairs seamlessly with the memorable interiors, altogether continuing the chapel’s fine tradition of bringing people together as one.
Text / Joseph Koh
Image by Hosanna Swee
Image by Hosanna Swee
Image by Hosanna Swee
Image by Hosanna Swee
Image by Hosanna Swee
Image by Hosanna Swee
Image by John Heng
Image by Hosanna Swee
