The design of Barley Swine’s interior evokes the experience of an energetic dinner party, where guests gather in the kitchen to be near the action. In fact, the restaurant is designed to give every seat in the house a view of the kitchen, so that the kitchen’s energy feeds the dining room, adding to that dinner-party experience.

Contrary to the common practice of maximizing lease-able square footage, the project benefited by removing 511 square feet from the building, creating an iconic patio for Barley Swine. At the rear of the building, a loading dock was converted into a working garden for the restaurant immediately accessible to chefs at work in the kitchen.  

Throughout the project, the mantra of “local, local, local” was central to the process—the goal being to work with as many local artisans, craftsmen and companies as possible.