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Domo Arigato: Blank Architectural Design Studio used a twist on an early ’80s song to help create an attention-grabbing new Japanese restaurant in New York.
By Matthew Hall
New Yorkers can choose from more than a thousand local restaurants if they feel like going out for Japanese food, according to Citysearch.com. For a restaurateur, that’s clearly a lot of competition. So how can a new Japanese restaurant in the Big Apple make its mark?
One way is to have a catchy name. Hence, the Mr. Robata Grill and Sushi Bar. OK, admit it—when you read that, the Styx song “Mr. Roboto” popped into your head (and may well make an extended stay there. Sorry about that.) But while the name is intended to play off the Styx tune, it’s also descriptive—robata is the name for a Japanese charcoal grilling technique that’s used by the restaurant’s chefs.
Mr. Robata is in the city’s Theater District, in a space on Broadway between W. 52nd and W. 53rd streets that was formerly occupied by a pizzeria. The restaurant’s interiors were created by Aki Miyazono and Katz Takeuchi of Brooklyn-based Blank Architectural Design Studio, whose previous creations include the Samurai-Mama Japanese noodle restaurant in Brooklyn’s hip Williamsburg neighborhood.
Mr. Robata’s P-shaped layout consists of just over 1,000 sq. ft. of space, diminutive dimensions much like those found in many restaurants in Tokyo, Miyazono notes. To help keep Mr. Robata’s patrons from feeling claustrophobic, the designers created separate zones within the space. The narrow front of the restaurant is home to a 16-seat sushi bar along one wall and a trio of two-top tables on the opposite wall. At the rear, a wider area houses a three-seat bar on the same side as the sushi bar, and a 15-seat lounge on the other side.
Designers also used strategically placed mirrors to give the environment a more spacious feel. For instance, at the front of the restaurant, the wall across from the sushi bar is covered in Asian stucco with a mirror stripe that runs parallel to the floor.
Though its size is reminiscent of restaurants in Tokyo, Miyazono describes Mr. Robata’s interior environment as “Kyoto modern,” evoking a contemporary take on Japan’s ancient capital. The space’s luxe materials palette includes a 37-foot-long sushi bar made of maple wood, plus flooring consisting of gray granite stone in the dining area and black ceramic stone in the bar. The restaurant’s plush seating arrangements, including its bar stools, sushi-bar chairs, arm chairs and sofas, were a joint creation of Blank and New York-based John Celli Custom Furniture & Design Corp.
Since opening earlier this year, Mr. Robata has apparently struck a chord with diners. Owner Barry Lipsitz is already expanding the space, and he’s commissioned Blank to design that addition. The 24-seat, 350-sq.-ft. expansion, which will be accessible from the original space’s back dining area when it opens this summer, has more of a Tokyo vibe, Miyazono says, featuring such finishing materials as reddish Venetian stucco, copper wall paneling and rice-paper pendant lighting.
“We wanted the addition to have a somewhat different feel than the existing restaurant, to give customers another reason to come in,” he explains.
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