A café named after Salvador Dalí will never turn out to be your run-of-the-mill establishment, and so it has proved in the Latvian capital Riga. Someone once asked the extravagantly-moustachioed surrealist what his favourite colour was, and the quick-fire response was “blue with gold tones”; these colours are reflected in the palette at Café Dali, which was designed by Anna Butele of Studio Annvil. You can see them in the bar area, with a light blue on the ceiling complimented by gold handles on the counter unit, and above the bar hang disembodied eye graphics – one of a number of references to Dali’s oddball style.
Other bits of decoration give a whole new meaning to the word wallpaper. Layers of the stuff have been built up to create a textured finish in a corner banquette area, and the material has been used again to even greater effect in the main dining space, covering a relief mural featuring the signature Dali lips. You can find Café Dali in Riga’s UNESCO-listed Spīķeri quarter.
