BIRCH Dubai

BIRCH Dubai is a restaurant by DA BUREAU, completed in 2025 for chef Arslan Berdiev. The project extends the identity of the original Birch, first opened in Saint Petersburg in 2017, into a new cultural context while preserving the values that have defined the restaurant from the beginning: hospitality, openness of communication and an individual approach to every guest. Rather than reproducing the earlier interior, the Dubai project presents a more mature interpretation of the brand through spatial clarity, material restraint and a stronger integration of the culinary process into the guest experience.

Innovation lies in the way the restaurant reorganizes fine-dining rituals. Instead of separating front-of-house atmosphere from kitchen performance, the project brings them into close dialogue. The main hall combines semi-bar seating, where guests meet the chef at eye level, with lower seating on a raised podium and a large communal table. The open kitchen is conceived as four separate islands, turning preparation into a theatrical but precise choreography. A chef’s office/lab supports experimentation, while a private dining room with terrace offers a more intimate format for presentation-based dining.

Form is articulated through a strong yet economical material language. Deep dark-green marble volumes define and separate the main functions, while a veneered lamella installed under the ceiling unifies them as a continuous ribbon flowing through the space. This element refers to wood chips and creates a sense of movement across the interior. Light-toned wood, concrete, steel and marble produce a calm, elegant atmosphere that avoids the stiffness often associated with fine dining.

Functionally, the project offers multiple ways of inhabiting the restaurant: waiting in the lounge bar by the fireplace, informal contact at the semi-bar, communal dining, focused tasting and private hosting. The design supports comfort, orientation and flexibility without losing intimacy. Its eco-social value lies in rethinking hospitality as a more human and communicative experience, where the spatial organization encourages openness, personal attention and a deeper connection between guest, chef and craft.