Marble Groups’s Zioux Restaurant in Joburg’s Sandton has nabbed first place in the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards 2022 Surface Interiors category for Africa and the Middle East.

The Marble Group’s latest addition to Johannesburg’s finer-dining offering has arrived in the form of a sensory restaurant-bar that’s a tongue-in-cheek interpretation of Johannesburg’s moniker, “the urban jungle”. Early 1900s Art Nouveau meets ’70s retro in a space that immediately invokes opulence, abundance and novelty.

From stained-glass doors and a backlit onyx-marble bar to an elevated VIP section and Krisjan Rossouw’s art series of human forms with animal heads, the space references an African take on Art Nouveau.

READ MORE: Restaurant & Bar Design Awards 2022: Category Winners

Marble worked with design agency GRID, Reddeco and the Blackline Group to achieve this particular look and feel. “We all tend to be creatures of habit, controlled by insecurities, work and relationships, held captive like animals – so we created an environment where you can break free,” says interior designer and the group’s project manager Irene Kyriacou.

Situated across the street from its sister restaurant Saint, the more boujee Zioux (pronounced “zoo”) is a sophisticated bar, with a menu conceptualised by David Higgs and head chefs Mike van Rooyen (who has worked with Higgs for a number of years) and Moses Moloi (of FYN restaurant). A cocktail list by award-winning mixologist George Hunter complements the dining experience, which favours a Latin American flavour profile with strong Peruvian and Mexican influences. Expect dishes like ceviche and tiradito, a caviar service and an oyster bar, with an all-day brunch and high tea soon to be added.

This article was originally published on VISI.

Images: Elsa Young

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