Obscura

Tucked into Sophocleous Square, inside the medieval walls of Rhodes Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Obscura refuses to imitate the past. In a setting of strict tradition, the design sets bold, glossy black-and-white marble-effect porcelain against centuries-old stone, and lets the contrast speak: history stays authentic, and the new is clearly new. No pastiche, no fake antiquity, only an honest dialogue between the medieval and the contemporary.

Guests enter through a wrought-iron gate beneath a Gothic relief. The client, a mixologist, wanted complete transparency: every pour, every garnish, every technique on show. So instead of a bar against the wall, the design sets a free-standing bar station, clad in the same black-and-white porcelain, that guests can walk all the way around, with nothing hidden backstage and the craft performed in the round. Behind it, three arched niches lined in the same Bloom porcelain hold the spirits like relics, and a Belle Époque glass chandelier hangs above. Even the storage plays along: what look like refrigerator doors behind the station are in fact cabinets, clad in folded stainless-steel sheet and wrapped in film, borrowing the language of a professional kitchen.

Further in, a stone courtyard with a palm tree and open sky becomes the bar’s secret garden, where blackened metal with copper accents adds an industrial edge to the old walls.

A small cocktail bar that rewards a second look, with the old town’s history on its walls and a wink in every detail.

Nominee – Restaurant & Bar Design Awards 2021 · Featured by Elle Decor Italia

Materials: Bloom marble-effect porcelain (Marble Boutique collection) by Del Conca (bar station, arched niches, back bar, tables and courtyard counter) · tiles supplied by Abitare nel Bagno and installed by Alex Tile Art · cabinets behind the bar station clad in folded stainless-steel sheet to read as refrigerator doors, by Kanakas Inox, wrapped in film by Hedera · furniture by Almeco.

Credits: Client: Mixing Ribbons · Design: Eleni Karimali Architect · Photography: Milton Louiz · Area: 73 m² (23 m² interior bar + 50 m² courtyard)