Banana Tree Canteen is a well established chain of restaurants serving contemporary dishes from Indochina, run by chef-proprietor William Chow. This week sees the opening of their new Wardour Street restaurant and the launch of a new interior design concept.

The scheme is on-trend in its rustic-industrial styling – think the rawness of Pizza East meets the pared-down canteen style of Wagamama’s. The space is stylish and urban with a subdued colour scheme of greys, white and muted green punctuated by a sprinkling of bright red pendant lights. The layout is straightforward and well organised with a strip of sharing tables down the centre providing the main focus while a lively graphic on the wall by the entrance creates a cosy corner that is full of atmosphere. The furniture is rough and ready with concrete benches, reclaimed school style chairs and industrial stools.

Concrete and metal are the primary finishes with white ceramics and aged wood also making an appearance. This abundance of hard surfaces – concrete floor, ceiling and furniture, bare brick walls, metal ceiling rafts – does have a serious effect on the acoustics. The resulting high noise level, whilst creating a ‘buzzy’ and lively ambiance, unfortunately makes it quite hard to communicate both with the person you’re with and the waiting staff. A little more contrast in finishes would help ease the acoustic problem as well as adding some visual texture.

The lighting scheme is very successful providing a pleasant level of illumination and a warm, intimate mood. Huge spun metal pendants provide a sculptural feature and old fashioned carbon filament bulbs add atmosphere to the sharing tables. Industrial spotlights illuminate the concrete ceiling and galvanised ducts, making a them into a feature.

Being finished all in white, the open kitchen to the rear of the restaurant tends to blend into the background rather than providing the dramatic backdrop it ought to be. The theatre of the flames licking up the side of a wok or a chef chopping hurriedly with his cleaver are just not visible enough. The cocktail bar sitting between the customers and chefs acts as another barrier between that theatre and the audience. It would be great to see within the space some expression of the beautiful, fresh food being served. Displays of fresh fruit and vegetables or even just representations of the food, such as crates, sacks or herb plants, would hint at the style and quality of what’s on offer.

A great atmosphere, a cool, contemporary interior and delicious food make Banana Tree Canteen a must-try restaurant. Keep an eye of their website to see when it opens. www.banana-tree.co.uk

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