Designer Minnie Bhatt On Executing Her Hundredth Restaurant

Minnie Bhatt started designing restaurants to help a friend out. Having just designed and executed her hundredth restaurant, she talks about her journey, design sensibility and work process

Serendipity, they say, is sometimes a good thing. Minnie Bhatt was a new graduate of an interior designing programme, trying her hand at designing different spaces, when she had the chance to help in setting up Silver Beach Café in Mumbai’s Juhu. “It was a friend’s partner’s project, and he did not have a designer on board, so I signed up for it,” the founder of Minnie Bhatt Design tells us. “It was my first café project, and it turned out well. Post that, we started getting a project or two.” The rest, as they say, is history. This year, Minnie designed her hundredth restaurant. Her work has taken her across the country as well as outside it.

“If you’re excited and passionate about your work, it’s never tiring. After two-and-a-half decades in this industry, I’m still very excited about design!” 

Her achievement, no mean feat, has come out of learning to work on site, troubleshooting and going with the flow. Having grown up in a heritage building in South Mumbai and surrounded by Art Deco style architecture, her sensibilities have been honed on design that endures. She strives to create diverse spaces that have personality and their own unique character. For that, Minnie believes, it is crucial to understand the client’s brief.

If it is a residence, their lifestyle, tastes, likes and dislikes are important. If it is a restaurant or a commercial space, then it’s about what the brand represents, its ethos and the experience it wants to offer its consumers. “So, more than my own personality, it needs to speak of the owner,” the designer explains. “And, of course, versatility in design is essential.” This demands that her work be eclectic, she admits, but she is quick to point out that it is not necessarily always minimalistic. Opulence comes in when the client wants it, even if her personal style is to use natural materials, preferably sustainable, to make spaces look warm and timeless.

“My work is mostly intuitive; my inspiration stems from my conditioning in the field and from my travels across the world.” 

“My work is mostly intuitive; my inspiration stems from my conditioning in the field and from my travels across the world,” Minnie elaborates. Since it is imperative for the client and the designer to be on the same page in terms of the overall look and vibe they want, her firm has not shied away from respectfully refusing  a project when the aesthetic sensibilities of the parties did not match.

Other challenges include dealing with labourers and contractors and sensitising them towards on-site cleanliness. Over the years, Minnie has learnt to take it all in her stride. The teenager who felt awkward on site when she started out is now not only comfortable with it, but also feels that they treat women better, so her gender is an advantage. All of this happens, primarily, because she loves what she does. “If you’re excited and passionate about your work, it’s never tiring,” she enthuses. “After two-and-a-half decades in this industry, I’m still very excited about design!” 

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