‘We are honoured to be working with Kew’ – Mizzi Studio chosen to design restaurant in London’s Royal Botanic Gardens

Well-acclaimed Maltese-British design studio Mizzi Studios has been chosen to design a new family restaurant within the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London.

The gardens house the largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world, and thus, the new restaurant has been designed to mirror just that.

“We wanted the new Family Kitchen at Kew to be able to teach children lessons about nature and food through activity,” Mizzi Studio Director Jonathan Mizzi said.

“The kitchen is sectioned into distinct dining, serving, learning, and washing zones, but it reads as one continuous, vibrant and fantastical experience. We really wanted to make children excited about food, food hygiene, and food preparation – we did this through colour, texture, and wild, nature-inspired form,” Mr Mizzi continued.

Mizzi Studios also received overwhelmingly positive feedback following the project’s tender process, which included entries from international architecture firms such as HOK.

The Family Kitchen is set to be sited right next to the Botanical Gardens’ Children’s Garden – a natural setting that allows young people to explore and play, all whilst being surrounded by the presence of earth, air, sun, and water.

“It’s not every day that you get to design for your dream client – an institution that has brought so much value to the entire world,” Mr Mizzi continued.

“We are honoured to be working with Kew. We’ve designed a space that celebrates nature and learning. It’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets nature-led laboratory. It’s a place where children can learn about our ecosystem – how the sun works, how plants work, and how food is grown.”

A zoning approach within the Family Kitchen follows the theme of the four seasons with applicable colour stories, material texture, and visual cues permeating into the different sections and seating throughout the kitchen.

This project is in line with Mizzi Studio’s mission to seek out projects with a positive social, cultural, and environmental impact.