Kioku by Endo opens at The OWO
Kioku by Endo has opened its doors at London’s The OWO, helmed by Michelin-starred sushi master Endo Kazutoshi.
The latest addition to Creative Restaurant Group’s portfolio, the new restaurant and sake bar features interiors crafted by London design studio Pirajean Lees, envisioned to capture the chef’s memories of travels through Japan and Spain through textures and colours. The sake bar occupies a spot on the building’s ground floor, while the restaurant is nestled on the rooftop, with panoramic views of Whitehall and Westminster.
Both the bar and restaurant are designed in a calming palette that layers warm and tactile materials such as natural oak, cork, leather and linen. Japanese joinery techniques became a focus of the studio’s research, taking form in handcrafted joint details, wall panelling, built-in cabinetry, window frames and bespoke furniture. Other prominent materials such as cork, oxblood leather, hand-crafted tiles and layered mesh are informed by the Mediterranean.
Accessed through a discreet side entrance on Whitehall Place, the intimate Kioku Bar is a 25-cover sake bar with a collection curated by Natsuki Kikuya. At the entrance, a traditional Japanese joint detail holds the door frame in place, while a banner made from a length of draped fabric decorated with the restaurant’s name in ink calligraphy hangs above – a detail that recalls the traditional Japanese ‘Noren’ typically hung in doorways and windows. Positioned at the entrance, a custom-designed reception desk fronted with embroidered Japanese fabric is wrapped by oak and mesh screens and chequered cork panels. In this space, everything is designed around the sake, from a bespoke safe that keeps it at the correct temperatures, to the depth and height of the bar shelves and even the warmth of the lighting.
Wrapped by panoramic views of London’s skyline, the light-filled rooftop restaurant occupies a narrow stretch that runs along the building’s northern side, encompassing a 56-seat main dining room with an eight-seat chef’s table by the kitchen, a 60-cover outdoor terrace and an eight-seat private dining room stationed in one of the building’s historic turrets.
The restaurant is arranged as a series of intimate spaces divided by timber frame and mirror ‘portals’ that break up the linear footprint and allow different areas to be activated throughout the day. The material palette from the bar, as well as details like the oxblood leather dado rail and rhythmic mesh screens, are repeated in these spaces, with accents of aged brass on the lighting and ironmongery.
“It’s been an honour to work with a visionary like Endo on this project,” says James Lees, the design studio’s co-founder. “We share a passion for storytelling and an obsession with details; from the way your hand touches the backrest of a chair, to the height of the table, the guest experience informed every decision we made. From the outset, we knew that the level of attention to detail in the interior had to match that found in the food being served.”
Clemence Pirajean adds: “In our studio, we don’t design for the sake of aesthetics or make decisions based on trends, everything is narrative-led and informed by the guest experience. We design to create emotional spaces grounded in their story, rather than interiors purely driven by aesthetics. At Kioku, we want guests to feel welcome, immersed in Endo’s passion and memories, they are made to feel special.”
