Ping Pong isn’t your typical Thai restaurant. Its enthusiastically colourful palette, dreamt up by Alexander Lotersztain of Alexander Lotersztain Studio and Derlot, makes for a uniquely bright dining experience.

Lotersztain was entrusted with the design by the restaurant’s owner, who wanted the studio to “come up with a holistic approach to match its menu objectives”. From an unorthodox menu consisting of a mix of traditional Thai food alongside experimental flavours, like a Thai tea tiramisu, the idea of a bold pink interior for the main section of the restaurant was born.

“We like hospitality interior and brand design with a level of experiential approach,” says Lotersztain. “Dining has become an all-encompassing experience, from the wine selection, dishes and food approach to the interior and menu designs. It all plays a role.”

Ping Pong certainly takes an experiential approach, with two completely contrasting rooms eliciting varying responses. The front and main room is the insta-worthy monochromatic pink installation that is the “spirit” of the restaurant.

The pink interior proved the biggest challenge of the design, due to the difficulty achieving a consistent tone across all finishes.To achieve the colour, furniture supplier Derlot worked with a powder coating company in the US to ensure it matched the selected Pantone.

“We also wanted to challenge the expectations of a table top, by suggesting the use of 100% recycled post-consumer plastic,” says Lotersztain. The sustainable approach also acts as a slight visual respite from the pink, with a paler pink, white and blue hue. 300 spherical pendants hang at alternating levels from the roof, an illuminated reference to the restaurant’s playful name.

At the back is a more calm and intimate atmosphere in the green jungle room, which is filled with greenery and monkey motifs by Selletti and dark green Cup booth seats by Derlot.

“People tend to book and have preference for either one or the other section. We knew pink might be a bit risqué, so the idea of the green jungle room is to have another offering. I think it is a good balance,” says Lotersztain.

The studio’s goal was to bring positivity and fun to the hospitality industry and the restaurant was opened mid pandemic – a move that paid off for the owner, says Lotersztain.

“Ping Pong became a bit of an Instagram sensation…I did not expect it to be so influential, but I’ve been there a few times and you even see women dressing in pink for that perfect ‘gram’ shot,” he says.

The restaurant recently won the ‘In Another Space’ category at the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards.

Derlot
derlot.com