Between Two Shores

On the top floor of El Corte Inglés in Lisbon is El Mar – an immersive new restaurant experience lead by chef Kiko Martins. In this space, interior design becomes a narrative that extends across the Atlantic Ocean, one which invites us to travel between the coast of Portugal and the shores of Rio de Janeiro.

WORDS Palesa Mohola PHOTOS Ricardo Oliveira Alves

El Mar offers a scenographic and sensory experience, where design tells a story in a visual and emotional tribute to chef Kiko Martins’ Portuguese and Brazilian roots.

For award-winning Spanish design studio Cateto Cateto, the project began with an understanding that Portugal and Brazil are not two separate worlds, but two ends of the same journey across the Atlantic – sharing many patterns across their promenades and public squares – and it is precisely this that the studio wanted to reference in the space.

“I wanted El Mar to evoke a sense of refuge and, at the same time, a feeling of travel. Although the restaurant is located within a commercial space, we wanted visitors to feel as though they were entering an independent, warm and immersive environment, almost like stepping aboard a sailing boat,” says Alejandro Cateto, creative director of Cateto Cateto.

With the restaurant situated in Lisbon – a city known for its natural harbour and long maritime history – Alejandro wanted to reinterpret elements of the city’s collective memory, such as navigation, timber, the Atlantic landscape and Portugal’s historical relationship with Brazil.

“This is achieved primarily through the use of wood and subdued lighting, which create a serene atmosphere, almost as though the space were embracing the visitor. The intention was to convey calm, intimacy and a certain curiosity to explore and discover the restaurant,” says Alejandro.

The concept was to subtly build a dialogue around the journey between Portugal and Brazil, and this informed the selection of materials, colours and pieces. The entire envelope of the space is made of wood, creating a warm, cocooning atmosphere reminiscent of a sailing ship’s interior; the patterns of the cushions evoke the curves of the Carioca beaches; the tiles – with their characteristic range of whites and blues – anchor the Portuguese memory; on the walls, the silhouettes of sailors and sails embrace us, gently guiding us towards this maritime universe, where the sea is not only the context, but the symbolic protagonist.

Tying it all together are Marset’s Dipping Light luminaires, suspended as if hanging from fishing rods – not only completing the scene with a Mediterranean wink, but also appearing like small sunsets within the space, multiplying in the reflections of the windows as night falls. This effect is further enhanced by the ceramic tiles used in the kitchen, where the blue tone, rough texture and reflective properties contribute to the perception of light in the space, with the interplay between lighting and surface evoking the reflection of the setting sun on the water.

Situated within the Gourmet Experience at El Corte Inglés, El Mar is designed to have a highly recognisable identity while integrating naturally into an open and dynamic environment. It is, altogether, an intimate aesthetic and culinary experience – taking visitors on an ocean voyage, with the sea on the horizon and design as the rudder. catetocateto.com | @wearecatetocateto

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