Customer Reviews

Bars, Pubs, Cafes: Hot Designs for Cool Spaces

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As an architect who has considerable experience with designing Bars, Hotels, & similar hospitality spaces, I applaud Julie Taylor's overall creative vision. This publication's attention to detail, descriptive project narratives, and beautiful photography will satisfy the most critical designer; at the same time acting as a wonderful conversation piece for any casual reader. It's simply a beautiful book to look at! I reccommend this book as a great resource to architects & designers looking for inspiration; as well as anyone who appreciates interesting spaces, as opposed to the same old drabby places Americans have become accustomed to!

I own a pretty sucessful bar in Santa Barbara California and decided last year to give the restaurant biz a shot. I know I know, but I was drunk.

Anyway, before I could back out, the lease was signed, big pieces were moving...I was pretty freaked.

I decided to learn all I could about the biz. From Management, to Design I ordered a blizzard of books on those and other subjects.

In the design genre I was very disappointed with this book. I (like some other reviewers here) found the interiors to look dated and generally "uncool". That is very much a matter of opinion, but really, the best teacher for me in design was to simply cruise around and put my head in a bunch of restaurants.

I good book (just outside the design genre) that takes design into consideration (more from a functional standpoint) is a book called "Restaurants That Work: Case Studies of the Best in the Industry". I recommend that one highly.

Good luck.

Christian Hunter
Owner - Sevilla Restaurant, Santa Barbara California

In Bars Pubs Cafes: Hot Designs For Cool Spaces, Julie Taylor takes the reader on a superlative tour of the hippest, hottest nightlife spots around the world showcasing today's most creative interior designers and architects. The styles span a range from Glamour Days and Minimal Moments, to Jesonia and Art Attack. Lavishly illustrated, meticulously chronicled, Bars Pubs Cafes is a tour-de-force presentation of some of the most elegant designs to be found in today's restarant and hotel bars, pubs, cocktail lungles, coffee hosues, and nightclubs from Tokyo to Toronto.

I would not recommend this book to anyone who is seriously looking into the finer points of restaurant design. Many of the chosen establishments have a very dated look to them, the photography is not up to par (so its not even good enough for the coffee table) and overall this book is a big snore. I am disappointed enough to return it, which I will be doing today. Definitely not worth the price. For a better read, try Restaurants That Work, by Martin E. Dorf.

I truly enjoyed the pictorial nature of this book. The descriptive text is also written in a visual style. I would have liked to read more about the concept inspirations and possibly some costs and expense of the designs. i have visited some of these wonderful spaces and would also liked to have addresses to visit more "Bars, Pubs and Cafes" during my travels.

A usefull tool for all the people that are somehow involved in the restaurant bussiness.Lots of cool places around the world showing a huge amount of solutions and perpectives.