Designer Forum: An award-winning design gives guests an experience worth diving into - July 2025

By Giorgia Cedro

When business partners Nasrin Chowdhury and Ruma Uddin first approached Brookyln-based Olbos Studio, they didn’t just want a restaurant, they envisioned an escape for their guests. Their vision for Tikka Charcoal Grill was ambitious: to create a transformative dining space in Hicksville, New York that could transport guests away from the mundane and into a realm of calm, beauty and wonder-a place that would feel both sophisticated and playful, intimate yet capable of hosting grand events. Inspired by the ocean’s mystery and serenity, the design brief became not just about aesthetic but also about emotion.

Olbos Studio embraced this challenge by crafting an immersive, underwater-themed restaurant that gently distorts reality, where refined materials and sculptural forms conjure a surreal yet elegant experience. The team, led by Giorgia Cedro, drew upon the ocean’s ripples, colors and meditative qualities to shape a space that feels both otherworldly and deeply human.

A sensory descent: From vestibule to reef

From the moment guests step inside, they’re plunged into the restaurant’s aquatic narrative. A vestibule in deep teal immediately submerges them, softened by a peach-toned microcement insert that signals warmth amid the cooler tones. Originally, this entry was intended to feature a durable rubber floor for practicality, but design timelines and evolving ideas led to a microcement alternative-an early example of the compromises that would shape the space, always balancing aesthetics with feasibility.

Inside, the double-height dining hall is elegantly modulated by four pill-shaped ceiling volumes that define semi-private dining rooms below. These canopies hover above corresponding floor layouts of Verde Antigua and Mediterranean Blue marble slabs, creating a spatial rhythm that feels organic yet intentional. Each pod accommodates groups of 12, six or two and feels remarkably intimate despite the openness of the space. Here, guests can adjust their own mood lighting, tailoring the ambiance to the occasion. From outside, the rooms shimmer behind translucent aluminum curtains, taking on the appearance of coral reef clusters-ethereal, glowing and ever-so-slightly in motion.

Designed for fluidity and function

This ability to shift-from private to open, from day to night-was essential to the clients’ vision. They imagined Tikka not just as a restaurant but as a venue for weddings, corporate events and cultural celebrations. Flexibility wasn’t a luxury; it was a requirement. In response, Olbos Studio devised a modular layout, where lightweight curtains and clever partitions allow the restaurant to transform as needed. A folding acoustic wall separates the main dining room from a larger event space, which features its own neutral palette and understated finishes for easy customization. The ivory-toned microcement floors and Italian 3D MDF wall panels lend a sense of quiet sophistication, while a series of circular light fixtures-created in collaboration with Brooklyn-based Italian artist Virginia Lina-add a sculptural touch above.

Despite a relatively restrained material palette, the design achieves a rich visual and tactile depth. The floors alternate between microcement for seamless polish and Mediterranean Blue and Verde Antigua marble for texture and color. The microcement, while not as robust as poured concrete, offers a continuous surface that embraces imperfections and the passage of time. In high-traffic zones like the banquet hall, it requires ongoing maintenance such as annual resealing, but the trade-off is a material that unites the restaurant’s diverse spaces under a cohesive aesthetic.

Light, texture and motion

Throughout the interior, every design decision is led by sensory experience. Lighting, in particular, plays a vital role. Viabizzuno N55 fixtures suggest the soft glow of jellyfish, while rippled stainless steel ceiling panels-especially above the bar-reflect and refract light like waves in motion. 

At the heart of the restaurant is the bar, a voluptuous centerpiece that encapsulates the project’s identity. Framed by three silver microcement arches, its back wall features glass shelving filled with an eclectic collection of rums and house-made ingredients, underscoring the clients’ desire to blend tradition with
innovation. The front is clad in a mosaic of Calathea tiles by Acquario Due, in four deep, aquatic shades. These tiles became a signature material for the project. Their overlapping pattern creates a sense of movement, while their Italian craftsmanship lends sophistication. The countertop, in Mediterranean Blue marble, is mirrored by the undulating steel ceiling above, extending the watery illusion vertically and uniting the entire space in a sense of fluidity.

Bathroom as immersive vignettes

This same narrative extends into the bathrooms, which function almost like gallery installations. Each one is a unique interpretation of the underwater theme. One features deep blue Pavoncella tiles paired with coral-colored sinks and toilets, evoking vibrant reef life. Another immerses visitors in a lush green “algae forest,” while the bridal suite’s bathroom glows with blush pink and gold tones, soft and celebratory, like the first rays of sunrise beneath the sea. All feature metallic ripple panels on the ceilings, casting dancing reflections that heighten the dreamlike atmosphere.

From client vision to conceptual clarity

Underlying every design choice is a commitment to storytelling and to honoring the clients’ original dream. Chowdhury and Uddin wanted more than a beautiful restaurant; they envisioned a space that could reflect their own journey, culture and entrepreneurial spirit. They sought elegance without excess, intimacy without confinement, and flexibility without compromise. Their desire to craft a setting that felt simultaneously like a home and a destination inspired Olbos Studio to think beyond typical restaurant design and instead build an ecosystem-one that lives, adapts and glows.

Their shared vision and the collaborative process that followed led to a rare synergy between designer and client. A key moment of alignment came when the design team introduced Acquario Due’s tile collection. The clients immediately embraced the Calathea tile-an affirmation that the creative direction resonated not just with aesthetic instincts but also with the emotional foundation of the project. 

About the Author

Giorgia Cedro founded Olbos Studio in 2021 as an itinerant architectural practice rooted in cross-cultural exchange, drawing on her Italian heritage, professional experience in Tokyo, and life in New York. Before launching her own studio, she worked at WORKac and Cicognani Kalla in New York, Cino Zucchi Architetti and LAND in Milan.