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The only Japanese restaurant where you are the chef

Yakiniku Rikyu is a Korean-Japanese grill room located in Madrid. The premise is to invite the diners to a culinary ceremony, where they can cook their meal to their liking, on a grill fit in the table.

Narita’s strategy was to design a brand with a solid Japanese character without neglecting its cosmopolitan nature. It has been implemented on the space, website and brochures, accompanied by specially-made calligraphy for the kanjis.

Capture the Japanese roots and cosmopolitan character of the project on the menu, the service and the atmosphere.

Bringing Japan to the digital world within ancient items and concepts. Leaving a mark on guests with a souvenir.

Exploring the space, finding out its offer and booking the contemporary culinary ceremony from the same place.

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Year 2019-2021 ©Narita & Stone Design

Asuka Korea Global

The client

Yakiniku Rikyu was born as an initiative of a Korean-Japanese businessman. He wanted to open a Japanese grillroom in Madrid to introduce this common culinary practice in Japan, which results from mixing both cultures. This cuisine emerges from a system the Korean immigrants brought to Japan when they came here in the early ‘50s. This technique is a mixture of traditional Korean grill, placed at the table, and Japanese beef cuts and breeds. The diners can cook the meat and some other food on a grill at the centre or the table the way they like. Yakiniku means 'burning meat' or 'self-made grill'.

The project

Yakiniku Rikyu restaurant aims to offer a gastronomic proposal of high quality within an environment designed in detail. It consists of an experience that works as a contemporary culinary ceremony, closely bound together with the Japanese culture and present on the menu, the service and the atmosphere. The strategy set by Narita aimed to create an identity with solid references to its Japanese origin, yet based on a global character that would also show the cosmopolitan nature of the project.

The implementation

The starting point to a brand that brought together the references to the Japanese origin of the restaurant, the round shape in the grills of such places and the meat colour and strikes. The result is a symbol hinting at the flag of Japan, whose elements are slightly displaced regarding the energy around the gastronomic experience. On the other side, Narita also created specific calligraphy for the kanjis, those Japanese ideograms included in the brand graphic development. It works as tacit support for the second name of the restaurant, for rikyu means “Emperor’s summer palace”. Just as ancient Japanese palaces had their unique calligraphies, the Yakinku Rikyu meat palace has one too.

The brand finds its place in all kinds of media. In addition to lettering, website, letters, brochures and leaflets, it was also implanted in uniforms, crockery and cutlery. Besides, Narita was also in charge of photography art direction, both food and space.

Team

Alejandro Carrasco

Cristina Ruiz

Fabián Suárez

Juanje Molina

Mamen Chaves

Raúl Gómez

Vanesa Cortacero

Partner

Alberto Monteagudo

Alfonso Acedo

Estudio Mierterán

Rubén Ayala

What we did

Art direction

Audiovisual

Bran consultancy

Innovation prospects

Naming

Online/offline marketing

Social media

Storytelling

Visual identity

Web