Low lighting emphasises the textured walls and tabletops at this Tokyo restaurant, which cocoons diners in a soothingly muted palette.
Japanese architect Keiji Ashizawa designed Grillno, creating interiors that reflect the concrete apartment block it’s located at the base of.
Walls are covered in cement-board, while tables are made from thick slabs of concrete – as is the long open kitchen counter, where guests can watch chefs prepare smoked and grilled food from the menu.
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Grillno_10-768x1024.jpg)
Photography: Tomooki Kengaku
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Grillno_03-768x1024.jpg)
Photography: Tomooki Kengaku
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Grillno_02-768x1024.jpg)
Photography: Tomooki Kengaku
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Grillno_06-768x1024.jpg)
Photography: Tomooki Kengaku
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Grillno_09-768x1024.jpg)
Photography: Tomooki Kengaku
![](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Grillno_08-768x1024.jpg)
Photography: Tomooki Kengaku
The restaurant’s brutalist atmosphere is softened by oak floors and cabinets and dark wood dining chairs.
Ashizawa told Dezeen the aim was ‘to achieve a relaxing atmosphere with moments of tension’. Grillno is located not far from Kawaguchi station, a 20-minute train ride from central Tokyo.
![Tokyo's brutalist restaurant Grillno wraps guests in 50 shades of grey](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Grillno_01.jpg)
![Tokyo's brutalist restaurant Grillno wraps guests in 50 shades of grey](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Grillno_05.jpg)
![Tokyo's brutalist restaurant Grillno wraps guests in 50 shades of grey](https://cdn.thespaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Grillno_07.jpg)