Antico Casale Bruciato brick tiles add authenticity to Nando’s revitalised Clayton restaurant.

In a contemporary expression of traditional South African crafts, materiality, and art, the team at Studio Y has creatively brought Nando’s Clayton site into the new decade.

At the entrance, Patrick Bongoy’s artwork provides a spectacular, warm welcome to customers. Then throughout the space, extensive pops of colour and beautifully woven textures, inspired by South African fashion, guide customers along the restaurant’s circulation paths.

These bold colours, patterns, and textures are balanced with a fairly neutral palette. Within that palette, natural finishes and surfaces abound–including cork, timber, and brick­– exhibiting warm hues and honest textures, reflecting Nando’s value of quality.

It’s not only the aesthetic value of these materials that make this design a standout but their clever application by the team, in striking geometric patterns, which effortlessly guide customers through the space. Take, for instance, the Antico Casale brick tiles. They are used extensively on the floor, columns, and wall splashbacks in a bold, repetitive pattern that changes direction at critical points in the floor plan.

“We needed a tile that was hardwearing, did not need sealing, and was in beautiful ochre hues. Antico Casale Bruciato's brick tiles ticked all of these boxes. It’s also very competitively priced and the colour variation gives it a very authentic look and feel, which aligned well with the Nando’s brand,” Studio Y says.

The texture and hue of the brick tiles contrast well with the smooth finish of the timber lining on the ceiling–which is also laid in alternating patterns–and again with the cork cladding, laid in geometric shapes in two hues on the walls.

Studio Y’s thoughtful design works beautifully from an aesthetic point of view and also makes perfect use of the site’s rather awkward circular footprint. What comes as a challenge to most, has been skilfully mastered by this team, flanking the curved surfaces with booths and banquettes that look inward, cleverly making sense of the curves, and avoiding any unused space.

Though it’s only Studio Y’s first project delivered for Nando’s, we suspect it won’t be the last. The revitalised restaurant in Clayton has received rave reviews from Nando’s management, as it has aligned the space with the look and feel of the company’s newer restaurants. So, watch this space. There are sure to be more of these creative, colourful Nando’s refits by Studio Y yet to come. And we look forward to that.

Designer: Studio Y
Product: Antico Casale Bruciato brick tiles
Shopfitter: Icon Interiors
Photographer: Andrew Worssam Photography (unless indicated)