Lifestyle

#HalloweenSpecial This Mexican restaurant by Cadena + Asociados Concept Design promises a thrilling dining experience

OCT 31, 2020 | By Aneesha Bhadri

The interiors of Hueso restaurant in Guadalajara, designed by Ignacio Cadena; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

The furniture has been custom made by architect and designer Ignacio Cadena; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

The art interventions are by Los-Originales, Tomás Guereña and Miguel Ángel Fuentes; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

Ignacio Cadena designed the lighting of this Mexican restaurant; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

Detail of the long table; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

The aluminium cast bones are by Mauricio and Sebastián Lara; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

Top shot of the long table; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

The ceramics are by José Noé Suro; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

A dead tree trunk is seen in the backdrop beyond the wooden tables; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

Alfonso Cadena’s concept restaurant Hueso makes no “bones” about its appearance! Lurking in a 1940s building of modern architecture in the capital of Jalisco, the birthplace of tequila and mariachi music, the eatery appeals to both contemporary sensibilities as well as atavistic inclinations.

It is conceptualised by Mexican architect and designer Ignacio Cadena of Cadena + Asociados Concept Design. Just one step in and we see how easily it strikes a chord with all those who visit, calling out to the primal part embedded in our psyche, a hereditary figment of caveman recollections.

Covered from floor to ceiling in bones of varying shapes and sizes, its stark light palette sets a modern context, where the bleached look of the bones lends a surreal quality.

Artisanal handcrafted ceramic tiles envelop the exterior; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

Luis Barragan’s Foundation and Diaz Morales’s House Studio in the iconic Lafayette Design District of Guadalajara, forms the backdrop of Hueso, which translates to ‘bone’ in Spanish. Artisanal handcrafted ceramic tiles envelop the exterior, setting the tone for the white and grey interiors.

Bones make an appearance right at the entrance of the restaurant; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

An astounding assortment of 10,000 organic bones covers most of the bare brick walls in almost a Darwinian narrative of life. Peppered with objets, cooking tools and artistic renditions, a modern canvas emerges, where textures and forms draw the eye, as it traces the shifting white shapes all around.

Steam-bent wooden cafe style chairs flank a long table; Photographs by Jaime Navarro

Steam-bent wooden cafe chairs flank a long wooden table, while a glass display case near the white staircase hosts a collection of specimens, giving a distinct feeling of being transported to a natural history museum. The bleached white and grey palette continues into the bathroom, where sleek white tiles offset a decorative horned animal skull.

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