Los Angeles-based Studio Unltd has used influences from Morocco to Turkey for the interiors of this Middle Eastern restaurant in the city's Arts District.
Located in a former warehouse, Bavel was designed by Studio Unltd and restaurant chef Genevieve Gergis with modest, light interiors alongside old-world accents. The goal was to pay tribute to the past industrial life of the space, as well as reference the heritage of the cuisine.

"Middle Eastern restaurants are often imagined to have design aesthetics that tend to be very dark, heavily patterned and somewhat cliche?," said Gergis. "With family roots in Israel, Morocco, Turkey, and Egypt, chefs Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis wanted to open a restaurant that showcases the cuisine from their family lineage." The design for the restaurant, which opened in April 2018, highlights original elements of the space with white-washed walls and wood furnishings to complement the old warehouse.
"The interior brick walls have been treated with a wash, which evokes the textures of ancient Middle Eastern seaside villages; where wall materials show the age of centuries of different treatments depicting its evolution," said the chef.

A central dining area is defined by high ceilings with sawtooth-like skylights and exposed ductwork. Plants drape down from the ceiling, helping to soften the space and dampen acoustics. The greenery is back-lit in the evenings, giving perimeter walls a pattern reminiscent of M...