Hoy! Natural Mexican Food is a new Mexican-inspired health food restaurant in Lisbon that serves vibrant and tasty dishes. To convey these sensations to the environment, the architecture studio SD | JM | ARQ has created a modern and attractive space, full of colour and texture, which makes a daring reference to the American origins of the menu.

“Perhaps the most interesting decorative element of the project is the boomerang tables and the accompanying wall decoration. They are inspired by Mexican and Inca traditions, but integrated into Western culture, thus offering customers a completely new experience”, say João Mota and Sofia Duarte, project managers.

In this sense, the walls and bartop feature traditional Mexican triangle-shaped terracotta tiles. However, the effect they produce in combination with the black background where they are placed – large Dekton Eter slabs, a colour featuring a dark granite structure in black and grey tones – is totally contemporary. This feeling is accentuated by the bare, almost brutalist columns and the walls with textured paints and resins.

The bartop and the previously mentioned bespoke tables also feature Dekton. In this case, the colour chosen was Umber, which was a particularly welcome find for the architects, who were looking for a shade that would match the triangle tiles and, at the same time, offer the high quality and durability needed to cope with the demands of a restaurant. Dekton Umber, a beautiful terracotta colour inspired by umber, a natural pigment with a reddish hue, met this requirement perfectly.

This very trendy colour with its textured surface that is warm to the touch, ensures not only captivating aesthetics, but also exceptional performance: “Among the main advantages of using Dekton surfaces for this space is the peace of mind of not having to worry about cracks, tears, scratches and stains, allowing us to do what we do best”, the studio says.

And they further say: “The choice of Cosentino materials was never in doubt: its wide range of modern, elegant, rustic and high quality finishes is exactly what we were looking for. Its carbon neutrality, together with its resistance to scratches, stains and abrasions, make it the perfect choice to achieve long-lasting applications”.

Dekton was also used for the flooring. In this case, the colour chosen was Fossil, a dark grey background crossed by veins and spots that adds character to the space.

The kitchen area also features Dekton Soke and Dekton Kovic, two interesting grey shades inspired by natural materials, with neutral base tones and a subtle pattern. In addition, Dekton’s 25-year warranty ensures the long life of the material, even in an environment that is prone to extreme temperatures such as this.

“Dekton’s many advantages and benefits have allowed us to transform Hoy! into what we wanted it to be: a place where the food and the environment allow our customers to embrace natural meals made from the finest ingredients while being surrounded by high quality materials like Dekton”, João Mota and Sofia Duarte say finally.