ERNST Restaurant

Clay as an ingredient for new architecture

The Canadian chef Dylan Watson-Brawn came to Berlin via Tokyo, Copenhagen and New York. He can often be found in the countryside surrounding Berlin, looking for his ingredients. His kitchen is focused on products and details. Freshness and bringing out the qualities contained in the product are top priority. The interior designers Salem Charabi and Rasmus Stroyberg from Copenhagen pursue their passion with the same understanding.

In the restaurant, you sit at a long bar with a handful of guests and watch the cooks. The design and colour of the restaurant are extremely reduced – purposefully so you can focus all your senses on enjoying the food. It is the careful selection of natural materials and their thoughtful handling that lends the room its special quality and liveliness.

Floor, walls and ceiling are kept in a uniformly light and warm grey. The surfaces of the walls were plastered with clay earth. This natural material has a characteristic surface quality that can be varied depending on the application technique and handling. But the clay has another noticeable quality. It regulates humidity and binds odours. Both arise during cooking and spread out in an open kitchen concept such as this.

Natural-coloured linen curtains, dark glazed wood and small pendant lights with metal shades are the other ingredients for this room.

Craftsmanship as a path to perfection

The restaurant chairs – like the dishes being served – catch the eye, standing out against the reduced interior design. Each chair is handcrafted from German oak. Delicate round timbers join to form the classic angular shape of an armchair. A stain made from brewing the bark of the wood gives the cherry its rich colour. The backrest and seat are woven from paper cord.

At the end of the evening, when you get up out of your handcrafted seat and leave these exceptional rooms, you will perceive the possibilities of dining and indoor spaces with new eyes and sharpened senses.