Denizens of the dearly departed Trader Vic’s tiki bar on London’s Park Lane could surely not have imagined its new incarnation, as Mr Porter, a shapely steakhouse in the recesses of the Park Lane Hilton. Conjured by the whimsical international design practice of Baranowitz + Kronenberg, the 700 sq m space leans into feminine colours and curves rather than traditional men’s club tropes.

A copper door and monochrome foyer are the London restaurant’s only real estate on the hotel’s ground level. A spiral staircase draws guests downward into a subterranean space where the Tyburn River once flowed. Baranowitz and Kronenberg say they were inspired by the ancient river still far below the Mayfair neighbourhood and approached the underground site as an opportunity to craft ‘a world from absence, from depth, from reflection’.

The main dining room is overlooked by mirror-polished copper panels, creating an illusion of endlessness. It expands the room vertically and blurs the line between architecture and atmosphere, particularly when seen against the ripple effect around the perimeter. The palette is composed of brushed metals, velvet upholsteries and natural stone, warmed by strategic lighting recessed into the curvaceous copper bar and sinuous staircase. Creamy walls are trimmed with warm wood, clashing with panelling of brass, copper and gold. The rich scheme was chosen for its easy, calming quality that, along with more recessed lighting, softens the boundaries of the space.

The new look belies its most famous predecessor, but it won’t have alienated any of the core clientele. This is a place to hole up in.

www.mrportersteakhouse.com

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