El Mar restaurant in Lisbon by Cateto Cateto merges Portuguese and Brazilian design

Rafael CunhaINTERIOR13 hours ago3.7K ViewsShort URL

Perched on the top floor of El Corte Inglés, El Mar unfolds as a spatial narrative shaped by memory, geography, and atmosphere. Conceived for chef Kiko Martins, the restaurant translates a personal story into an interior language that moves between the Portuguese coastline and the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. Rather than staging a literal reference, the project constructs an emotional geography where design, light, and material evoke a continuous crossing between two cultures.

Designed by Alejandro Cateto and his studio Cateto Cateto, the space is conceived as an enveloping scenography. The interior does not rely on singular gestures but on a layered composition of references that gradually reveal themselves. Cushions echo the undulating lines of Carioca beaches, while ceramic tiles, rendered in a restrained palette of whites and blues, anchor the space in a distinctly Portuguese sensibility.

Across the walls, silhouettes of sailors and sails appear as quiet presences. These figures do not dominate the room but instead guide movement and perception, suggesting a maritime narrative that unfolds subtly. The sea is not represented directly. It is implied, embedded in textures, forms, and transitions.

Wood defines the spatial envelope, wrapping the interior in a continuous surface that recalls the cabins of a sailing vessel. This gesture establishes both intimacy and direction, as if the restaurant itself were a vessel in motion. The sensation is immersive yet controlled, balancing enclosure with openness toward the surrounding city.

The material palette reinforces this duality. Deep oceanic blues are set against warmer golden tones, evoking shifting moments of light from midday to sunset. Rather than contrast, the palette operates through gradation, allowing the space to feel fluid and atmospheric.

Lighting plays a central role in this composition. The Dipping Light luminaires by Marset are suspended delicately, recalling fishing rods while simultaneously evoking the low sun at the horizon. As evening falls, their reflections multiply across the glazing, extending the spatial experience beyond the physical boundaries of the room.

El Mar is conceived not as a static dining environment but as a journey. The interior guides visitors through a sequence of sensations, from enclosure to openness, from memory to projection. The design operates as a narrative device, translating the chef’s transatlantic identity into spatial terms.

Here, gastronomy and architecture converge. The act of dining becomes inseparable from the surrounding environment, where textures, light, and material extend the culinary experience into space. The restaurant positions itself as both destination and passage, a place where design becomes the medium through which stories travel.