The designer of Stan & Co. clearly likes to engage with the customer, as everything at the restaurant in Utrecht is on display, and within reach. Good health and clean living also permeate this fresh feeling place on Ganzenmarkt, in the heart of the city.
Rein Rambaldo from De Horeca Fabriek did the designery at Stan’s place. The furniture has a chunky, solid feel to it; the fixtures are a sort of farmhouse industrial, with stripped back brick and wooden furniture hand in hand with black steel frames holding produce displays. Semi-circular booth seating on one wall even lends one side a diner-ish feel, while on the other is possible the biggest blackboard in history – actually more of a blackboard-like mural festooned with reasons why the bicycle is the saviour of mankind. Smack dab in the middle an imposing square counter has been dropped, with vintage bar stools around the counter. Here’s where the wine gets chilled, but the cookery happens at the back of the venue, mostly emanating from the Josper hot coal grill that is the centrepiece of the turquoise tiled kitchen. Modern yet somehow comforting.
Photography, René van Dongen
