Playa Mexican Bokarina
lounge bar / Restaurant Fit Out
Commercial Interiors / Hospitality Design
Full interior design service
Kitchen, bar and back of house layouts
Concept development and spatial planning
BIM modelling, design and construction documentation
Building approval and consultant coordination
Finishes, lighting and furniture selection
Custom joinery detailing
Bespoke acoustic treatment design
Still renderings and flythroughs
In-house furniture design and creation
In-house artwork and sculpture design and creation
Engaged by long-time collaborators Tony Kelly, Harry Lilai and Luke Stringer, CAB ROTO delivered a strikingly original interior for Playa Mexican that avoids familiar coastal tropes. Rather than chasing trends, the design draws from Mexican Modernism, Muralism, and contemporary sculptural practice to drive the palette, materials and geometry.
Sculpture elements were built in-house including three large-format artworks, a full height carved timber totem column, and divider screens built from reclaimed railway sleepers. Each piece reflects Mexico’s long tradition of craft and making, translated through CAB ROTO’s purpose driven design and hands on fabrication process.
Materiality is grounded by earthen textures, solid timbers, and sunburnt tones, balanced with unexpected details and contrast. Salvaged hardwoods, reclaimed pallet-timber tiles, hammered brass and copper bring grain and patina, ensuring the space feels lived-in from the start.
As always, operational demands drive the design. Circulation, privacy, and acoustics are resolved through bespoke joinery and discrete layered treatments that keep the energy alive without letting conversations bleed. The kitchen remains visually connected to diners, and the pass and tortilla press bench are integrated as functional dining tables. Guests sit where tortillas are pressed and plates are finished; theatre delivered quietly.
Lighting defines the mood and focus of the spaces. Warm, broad shades wash surfaces to soften shadow and reveal texture, while sculptural pendants pressed against the shopfront signal activity back to the street through the existing, heavily tinted, glazing. Elevated floor lamps on service counter tops mark points of sale rather than resorting to text based signage.
A woven masonry bar front and perforated screens reinterpret humble garden pavers into a refined architectural texture, adding depth and tying the restaurant and lounge together.
Visually rich, intimate and tuned to the sounds and smells of the kitchen. It’s obvious that the space has been designed by someone that knows what they’re doing. It functions properly, looks great and elements are balanced leaving diners free to focus on the main event – tacos, tequila and compadres.
Photos: Corey Schweikert