A Casual Breakfast Spot That Puts Craftsmanship at the Forefront of Its Design
Jordana Maisie Design Studio brings curving edges and handmade tiles to Ánimo restaurant.
A new restaurant in Midtown New York celebrates all the best parts of Mexican breakfast in a bright and colourful interior. Designed by Jordana Maisie Design Studio, Ánimo serves breakfast plates from across Mexico. And to honour the country’s history and culture, the designers put exceptional craftsmanship at the forefront of the restaurant, a 2,394-square-foot space that opened in October.
“We wanted to capture the spirit of the project name: Ánimo. In Spanish, Ánimo signifies the act of reassuring, of encouraging someone to overcome a challenge—not to give up. This is a sentiment intended to liberate you from the day-to-day grind of a bustling city like Manhattan.”
Rather than the typical unexciting aluminum-and-glass storefronts of New York, Ánimo’s experience begins with the exterior. As visitors near the restaurant, at the corner of Second Avenue and 53rd Street, their first view is a contemporary façade clad in handmade grey fluted bricks by Kinney Block. Beneath modern awnings, chromed wall sconces illuminate large glazed windows.
Inside Ánimo, curves abound—on the tables, counters, and overhead and in more subtle details throughout—incorporating influences from traditional Mexican architecture. Bright interiors complement a colour palette of pale green, terra cotta, and creamy stones.
The point-of-sale counter is the heart of the space. Clad in warm brown tiles by Fireclay Tile, the counter, which displays tantalizing baked goods, wraps and curves through the centre of the restaurant, folding in on itself and topped with terrazzo and brushed aluminum.
By a wall of south-facing wood-trimmed windows, arched chartreuse-cushioned banquettes undulate through the space like waves, accented with pale-green horizontal tiles by Heath Ceramics on the base and backs. The flow of the booths is followed by a second level of terrazzo that seems to float behind the intimate seating alcoves. Simple pendants—bulbs on black wires with gold and curving scalloped collars—hang between squiggly green ceiling areas that echo the flow of the tables.
Accompanying the banquettes, rounded custom Sapele hardwood tabletops sit on pairs of chrome legs alongside sleek silver and wood chairs with wide back legs. Behind them, a series of mismatched cutouts in the white walls create unexpected shelves where products and art are displayed. At the front of the restaurant, backless wood stools face a high terrazzo countertop.
Throughout, JMDS created a play between colour, texture, and material. “We wanted to break with the linear grid of Midtown and introduce flow, play, and texture into a space that pushes out into the city grid from the corner, inviting people in.”
Photographs by Seth Caplan.
