Stonesal Restaurant | Winner Designs
Stonesal Restaurant by Jeffrey Zee

Stonesal Restaurant

Silver A' Design Award Winner 2023

Jeffrey Zee's Stonesal Restaurant represents a distinguished contribution to contemporary hospitality design, synthesizing classical architectural vocabularies with refined modern sensibilities to create an environment of cultivated sophistication. The interior demonstrates exceptional command of spatial choreography, guiding visitors through a carefully orchestrated progression from arrival to dining experience, with each zone distinguished by thoughtful material selections and lighting strategies that reinforce programmatic transitions while maintaining holistic visual coherence. The designer appears to draw upon early twentieth-century precedents, particularly the geometric elegance associated with Art Deco interiors, reinterpreting these references through a contemporary lens that emphasizes warmth, textural richness, and intimate scale despite the generous spatial volume. The ceiling treatment merits particular attention: stepped planes finished in subtle rose-gray tones frame the central luminaire, itself a masterwork of proportional refinement that transforms functional lighting into architectural sculpture. The juxtaposition of materials speaks to a sophisticated understanding of tactile experience, rough stone walls creating compelling dialogue with polished marble, burnished bronze, and supple upholstery. The suspended sculptural figure introduces an element of poetic aspiration, suggesting themes of transcendence and elevation appropriate to spaces designed for gathering, celebration, and nourishment. The illuminated mezzanine gallery lined with display cases evokes traditions of the wunderkammer or cabinet of curiosities, inviting speculation about the treasures within while contributing to the layered visual complexity. Throughout, the chromatic restraint allows material qualities to speak with clarity, earth tones and metallic accents harmonizing to create an atmosphere simultaneously grounded and aspirational. Viewers might contemplate how the careful balance of intimate and monumental scales serves to elevate the dining experience from mere sustenance to ritual celebration.

Located in the trendy Nanshan district of Shenzhen, also known as the Silicon Valley of China, Stonesal is a restaurant composed of an interior space of 850 square meters and a lush outdoor patio area of 450 square meters with a total capacity of around 140 seats. Main design features include the double height dry aging room, the octopus translucent central bar, a generous open kitchen, a mezzanine wine showcase, 5 private VIP rooms, and the main dining area with a ceiling height of 5 meters.