Danish, Belgian and Dutch design: Um Plateau has this year given its restaurant a retro makeover, with mesmerizingly quirky and cosy touches!
Um Plateau is a real institution, just a stone’s throw from the old town and the lively Rives de Clausen area. One of the trendiest bars and restaurants in town. With an interior design that lives up to its reputation. You wouldn’t expect anything less!
Restaurateur Stéphanie Jauquet took over Um Plateau in 2008, and first revamped the restaurant eight years later. “We changed the concept to help it move with the times,” explains Jauquet, who also runs the Cocottes restaurants. “We wanted to create a bar you could also eat in, a place where you can come and share some tapas-style dishes over a few drinks.” It marked the start of a new era for the beautiful listed building, which still retains some of its original stained glass windows.
A real feel-good ambiance
Seven years later, and it was time for change again, with another makeover undertaken at the beginning of 2023. Although it was a case of out with the tartans and ‘home sweet home’ feel on the restaurant’s first floor, the decidedly cosy, subdued British ambience has been retained, with velvets, bench seating and shades of English green. Even the huge old gilded mirror, which used to belong to Jauquet’s grandmother, has been given a facelift.
“This English look exudes cosiness. We’ve remained true to the British style of the room, but have added in some psychedelic touches,” says interior designer Véronique Witmeur. On the floor, on the walls, on the stairs – the hypnotic patterned carpets from Dutch designer brand Moooi and created by designer Claire Vos, catch the eye wherever you go. “As soon as I saw them, I knew that I just had to have them in Um Plateau. They’re perfect for the ambience!”
Above the bar, Tom Dixon’s Mirror Ball pendant lights continue to hang, filling and reflecting the space: “It’s hard to imagine the place without them!”
Skilfully designed lighting
“But we had to rethink all the lighting. The right lighting is incredibly important for a restaurant. So, we worked with PSLab, a Lebanese company with a branch in Antwerp. They redid all our lighting for us in collaboration with the dining room team. We can now even change the lighting to suit the time of day or mood using a tablet. There are different settings, including lunch and dinner mode,” says Witmeur. “We decided to keep the walnut tables, which we sanded down, but got rid of the armchairs and replaced them with retro 60s/70s-style leather and solid polished aluminium chairs from Danish designer brand VIPP.”
Works of art join the party
Disco balls from Dutch art collective Rotganzen’s ‘Quelle Fête!’ collection help fuel Um Plateau’s 70s party vibe. Here and there, visitors to the restaurant will come across Dalí-esque disco balls that appear to be melting away – a fun new take on the traditional round mirror ball. In the restaurant’s first-floor room, its most important work of art takes pride of place at the end of the new central corridor, not far from the floor lamps designed by PSLab.
An almost hypnotic décor that’s sure to captivate you!
Um Plateau
6, Plateau Altmünster — L-1123 Grund Luxembourg
Tel. +352 / 26 47 84 26
umplateau.lu
Pictures: Iridium Photos