London’s Blue Mountain School is an emporium not an educational institution. But it’s a place of learning nonetheless: The six-story brick hub in Shoreditch showcases a concise, highbrow mix of fashion, art, and craft. It also has a restaurant tucked into the second floor: the Michelin-starred Mãos just reopened as Cycene, remodeled dining room and enlarged kitchen included.
BMS is the brainchild of creative couple Christie and James Brown, and we have been taking design inspiration from their work every step of the way. (To track the surefooted evolution of their restaurant, see Blue Mountain School: London’s Creative Club of the Moment, The Rarefied Restaurant at Blue Mountain School, and Steal This Look.)
The Cycene experience takes place over three hours in a succession of rooms, all filled with ideas worth applying at home. It starts in the newly built bar on the ground floor; continues in the kitchen, where guests get to see the night’s tasting menu in progress; and moves on to the dining rooms, one paneled and intimate, the other a BDDW-tiled art installation with a chef’s table for private parties. Come take a tour.
Photography as noted, courtesy of Blue Mountain School.
The Bar
![curtained off from the street, the pared back oak bar is where on arrival diner 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cycene-bar-blue-mountain-school-london-rebecca-dickson-photo-733x489.jpg)
![the broth is served in stoneware and porcelain beakers by british potter and bl 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cycene-bar-blue-mountain-school-london-rebecca-dickson-photo-2-733x1098.jpg)
The Dining Room
![newly introduced oak paneling is offset by rough plaster walls that were former 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cycene-dining-room-damian-4-hr-edit-733x1100.jpg)
![the back of the room has a wrap around oak bench with walnut butterfly joints u 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cycene-dining-room-blue-mountain-school-london-damian-griffith-photo-1-733x489.jpg)
The Browns worked with 6a architects on the initial conversion of the whole building. The new restaurant and kitchen upgrades were designed by the couple themselves and fabricated by Blue Mountain School Studio, which produces all of the BMS design projects and commissions. The idea here, the Browns note, was to present a “traditional materials palette turned on its head through contemporary application.” Photograph by Damian Griffith.
The Private Room
![preserved as it was, the hearth room is an installation by american artist and 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cycene-private-dining-room-blue-mountain-school-london-damian-griffith-photo-733x1098.jpg)
The Kitchen
![cycene is the old english word for kitchen. the newly enlarged space—a r 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cycene-kitchen-blue-mountain-school-london-damian-griffith-photo-1-733x489.jpg)
The kitchen is presided over by chef Theo Clench, who was introduced to the Browns in an amicable passing of the baton by previous chef Eddie Pellicano of Mãos. Photograph by Damian Griffith.
![another new addition is an aging fridge lined with himalayan pink salt blocks t 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cycene-kitchen-blue-mountain-school-london-damian-griffith-photo-3-733x489.jpg)
![brushed stainless steel counters run the length of the kitchen. the brass bridg 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cycene-kitchen-blue-mountain-school-london-damian-griffith-photo-2-733x489.jpg)
The Masterminds
![christie brown, james brown, and chef theo clench await your arrival. blue moun 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cycene-london-portraits-733x550.jpg)
Here’s a look at the restaurant as it originally looked:
- Blue Mountain School: London’s Creative Club of the Moment
- The Rarefied Restaurant at Blue Mountain School
- Steal This Look: Maos at Blue Mountain School
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