Must-Visit Restaurant Design Awards Finalists

The AIA|LA Restaurant Design Awards honor excellence in the design of restaurants, cafes, bars, lounges, and nightclubs. This year, 15 finalists have been nominated for both the People’s Choice and Jury prizes, including seven in the Restaurant category, six in the Café/Bar category, and two Lounge/Nightclub finalists. 

This year’s jury is comprised of Christopher Gialanella, publisher of Angeleno and Interiors California magazines, architect Andre Kikoski, AIA, as well as architect and restaurateur Bryan Libit of Stir Market.

These popular awards attract an array of industry-leading architects, interior designers, celebrity chefs, and restaurant owners, as well as design media from all over the world. 

Restaurateur and interior designer Barbara Lazaroff, ASID, will return to Dwell on Design Los Angeles, on May 30, to host the awards ceremony, which is sponsored by Astek, and announce this year's RDA winners, along with AIA|LA Associate Director Carlo Caccavale, Partner at ZGF Architects Ted Hyman, as well as Dwell's President and CEO Michela O'Connor Abrams and Los Angeles Editor Erika Heet.

Restaurant Finalists

• Odys + Penelope (Los Angeles, CA), designed by Preen, Inc.
• Simmzy’s Burbank (Burbank, Calif.), designed by SFJones Architects and Alex Moore Designs
• TERRONI Downtown LA (Los Angeles, CA), designed by Giannone Petricone Associates Inc. Architects, architect of record Garai-Terramorse Associates, structural engineering by Walter P Moore & Associates
• Blenheim Restaurant (New York, NY), designed by CCS Architecture and Morton Sohlberg
• The Bachelor Farmer (Minneapolis, MN), designed by James Dayton Design Ltd. and Janet Gridley
• Saul Bistro (Guatemala City, Guatemala), designed by Taller KEN
• The Water Trough (Austin, TX), designed by Rottet Studio and RTKL Associates

Café/Bar Finalists

• Prova Pizzeria (West Hollywood, CA), designed by Belzberg Architects
• Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room (Seattle, WA), designed by Starbucks Design
• Flying Squirrel (Chattanooga, TN), designed by Palmer Built Environments and Haskel Sears Design
• Magnolia House (Pasadena, CA), designed by Ralph Gentile Architects APC
• Idle Hour (Los Angeles, CA), designed by Wadeco Design and Bobby Green Design
• Verve Coffee + Juice Served Here (Los Angeles, CA), designed by Studio MAI

Lounge/Nightclub Finalists

• The Nice Guy (Los Angeles, CA), designed by Built, Inc.
• Harlowe (Los Angeles, CA), designed by Wadeco Design and Bobby Green Design

On Friday, May 29, the day before the RDAs, the finalists will appear together onstage in AIA|LA's Behind Great Restaurant Design to present slides of their restaurant designs and explain their influences, motivations and processes. Attendees will also hear from the three judges, who will discuss each eye-catching design and invite discussion about present and future restaurant design trends and inspirations.

Voting for the RDA People's Choice will remain open to the public until 12:00 p.m. on May 28, 2015. To select your favorite designs, visit the AIA|LA website.