Undoubtedly, Paseo Uno at the Mandarin Oriental Manila is the one new venue currently causing the most buzz among people who dine out in the metropolis. The interiors are a stunning showcase for the brilliant artistry of Yasuhiro Koichi, one of the world’s most sought-after restaurant designers and a principal partner of Tokyo’s famed Design Studio Spin.

In choosing a design firm that would replace what used to be the Brasserie, the Mandarin’s coffee shop, hotel general manager Helmut Gaisberger said he wanted an entity that would come up with a restaurant whose design and character “complement and conform to the vision and strategy of the Mandarin to introduce Asian culture to the world.”

Koichi and a colleague from Design Studio Spin, Tsuyoshi Fujiyoka, spent six months in 2002 working on a design concept that was presented to Gaisberger. Upon its acceptance, construction at the Mandarin began in January 2003. Almost half a year later, the Paseo Uno opened its doors to the public.

The Look
No trace of the former Brasserie can be seen as one enters Paseo Uno. No other restaurant in any five star hotel in Manila at present comes close to the stylish, ultra chic new dining venue. Past the reception area, one walks down a dark granite-floored corridor embedded with muted lighting in the flooring and past a row of narrow frosted green glass panel dividers brought in from Thailand.

The entire restaurant is imbued with coolness and one wonders why this is so. Charisse Chuidian, the Mandarin’s Communications Director explains that “the design concept for the interiors is mainly based on water” and what she says brings into sharp, clear focus Paseo Uno’s predominant elemental theme–water–and its accompanying sub-themes air and light.

Indeed, it is as if the restaurant either floats in or is bathed by water. To one side of the entrance stands, knee-high, a mound of emerald-hued glass sculpture doubling as a fountain from where water is spewed down to a narrow pool. More pools holding water that flows down granite blocks can be seen outside through the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

The same clear glass walls afford diners inside Paseo Uno a view of the azure waters of the Mandarin’s 25-meter infinity pool – arguably the most stunning swimming pool amongst those that may be found in Manila’s five star hotel establishments.

The dominance of water in the overall design evokes serenity and well-being. Aside from being employed as a design tool – that is, showing architectural lines, grooves and space – the design of most of the materials used in the restaurant such as glass and screen panels are also intended to simulate water.

Clearly, this is a restaurant where one goes to dine dressed, at the very least, in casual chic. Koichi and Fujiyoka’s talent and assiduous attention to detail shines through Paseo Uno’s interiors. It shows in the beautiful subdued silk brocade fabric encasing parts of the restaurant’s walls, the use of handmade glass, granite and marble, indigenous materials like capiz and glass-enclosed panels of young pen shells, and dining chairs made of cane and walnut-finished teak wood from a contemporary design by SPIN but executed by local craftsmen.

Snatches of hues such as red, orange and yellow in the fabric-encased walls are interwoven with touches of gold in brass and metal plates which are synonymous to the elegance of the Mandarin Oriental Manila.

Food Binge
One comes to Paseo Uno not only to soak in the swank of the interiors but to partake of excellent food for which the Mandarin has a solid reputation.

The Asian touch, such as the turo-turo style of eating that is popular amongst Filipinos, or Singapore’s hawker stalls are reflected in Paseo Uno’s three live cooking stations. It is in these stations where chefs under Paseo Uno’s executive chef Norbert Gandler and executive sous chef Humphrey Navarro prepare Asian noodles, pasta, tempura, dimsums, grill, roasts and crepes a la minute. A rotisserie and bread oven complement these stations even as more Asian and continental fare, including salads, hors d’oeuvres, appetizers, cheeses and a selection of desserts are spread out in daily breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets. More items from an a la carte menu may also be ordered.

Paseo Uno, with a seating capacity of 400, occupies a space of over 600 square meters and was built at an estimated total cost of P70 million. Truly a new milestone in dining in the metropolis, the swanky new restaurant shares the limelight with The Cliff – the seafood restaurant at the Beaufort Hotel in Singapore, the 500-seat The Restaurant at the Chedi Muscat Hotel in Oman, and La Scala the Italian restaurant in Bangkok’s Sukothai Hotel – all spectacular dining venues bearing the distinguished stamp of Koichi.

Paseo Uno, at the ground floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, opens daily from 6 am till 12 midnight. Reservations recommended.