Gundry & Ducker Turns Grade II-Listed London Workshop Into Bistro Cassette

Design studio Gundry & Ducker has renovated a 1,151-square-metre Grade II-listed workshop in London's Covent Garden into Cassette, a Parisian-style bistro that seats 52 guests across a ground-floor dining room and a basement level.

The spacious eatery occupies a nineteenth-century gothic building with double-height ceilings and an expansive glass facade with intricate detailing. An outdoor terrace accommodates an additional 30 guests when the weather permits.

The studio aimed to evoke a neighbourhood bistro in the middle of the West End.

"Our brief talked about a neighbourhood restaurant in the centre of town," Gundry & Ducker co-founder Tyeth Gundry told Dezeen.

"From there, the conversation centred on familiarity, recognition and ease – creating a neighbourhood restaurant for friends who live in different parts of the city," he said.

What does the interior look like?

The studio drew on traditional Parisian establishments, incorporating familiar elements such as deep aubergine finishes, dark banquette seating and classic bentwood bistro chairs.

The designers combined natural fabrics, sapele wood and stainless steel with the building's exposed brickwork to build a restrained colour palette and a "deliberately unfussy" interior.

Colour choice played a central role in the scheme.

"We talked a lot about colour: summer park landscapes, Parisian bistros and wine," Gundry explained.

"Tone too was really important; we needed colours that would dim well to help us create a low-level evening setting that feels warm; the key to which is controlling reflected light," he continued.

How does the design respond to the theatre district?

Taking cues from the surrounding West End theatre district, the studio installed a sophisticated sound system and a statement curtain with acoustic qualities that wraps around the main dining area.

"We felt that we could explore the world of theatres given the restaurant's location in London's West End," Gundry said.

"By placing the curtain within gantry structures, they became theatre curtains and added some character to the space," he continued.

"In this case, acoustics was as much part of the conversation as colour or operation. The curtains help to control reverb and talk about a softer acoustic," Gundry added.

Who sourced the artworks?

Cassette's owners, Mark Gurney and Matt Bushnell, sourced a selection of artworks from local markets and car boot sales to add pops of colour and personality to the space.

The project joins a run of recent restaurant interiors featured on Dezeen, including Bétyle Studio's design for the Parisian eatery Arcane 17 and Rockwell Group's newly opened Skywalker Grill at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. With its theatrical curtain, acoustic strategy and bistro vocabulary, Cassette shows how a listed West End workshop can absorb the rituals of French dining without erasing its gothic bones.