Restaurant Visit: Concrete and Green at an Australian Cafe in LA

Recently spotted in LA: a Sydney-style cafe by an Australian architect, complete with an ingenious concrete wall. Here’s a look inside.

Photography courtesy of Paramount Coffee Project.

Above: At Paramount Coffee Project in LA—the sister cafe to the original location in Sydney—Australian architect Alana Cooke channeled a “typical Sydney/Melbourne cafe” transplanted stateside. The palette is gray with gardeny green accents: concrete counters, a long concrete wall, green tiles, and exposed-wood ceiling beams. In keeping with the Sydney location, Paramount has “a real emphasis on the quality of the coffee and paying tribute to all the hard work it takes to get the coffee in the cup.”

Above: Light wood open shelving and tables are accented with steel: Factory-style doors frame the entryway, and black shelves are suspended above the concrete coffee counter. (For a similar look, see our post Design Sleuth: Stacked and Wall-Mounted Tables as Kitchen Storage.)

Above: A cinderblock concrete wall runs the length of the cafe, giving the space an indoor-outdoor feel (fitted with custom wooden hooks, it transforms into a living wall of plants).

Above: In the back room, a communal tile-topped table and more plants.

Above: The concrete counters have a rough-hewn look, raw edge included.

We love the idea of escaping to Australia (or LA) this winter. For more restaurants with a warm-weather vibe, see our posts:

• Nix in NYC: Vegetarian Cool with a California 70s Vibe
• 7 Ideas to Steal from the Manufactory in SF by Commune Design
• Restaurant Visit: Barzotto in San Francisco