From Amber to Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, meet the godfather of restaurant design

Adam D. Tihany describes himself as a ‘portrait artist’, creating unique restaurants designed around the chefs who run them

The restaurant designer chews the fat about his career and how Richard Ekkebus persuaded him to transform Amber in Hong Kong

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Amber's famous gold-rod lighting have been replaced by bronze ring chandeliers that draw attention to the ceiling height.

Published: 12:15pm, 3 Jul 2019Updated: 10:43am, 2 Aug 2019

Were it not for his lack of ego, award-winning Israeli designer Adam D. Tihany, 71, would be more of a household name. He is credited with inventing the “restaurant design” profession in the 1980s and his client portfolio reads like a list of the greats of the hospitality industry.

Tihany lists world-famous chefs such as Wolfgang Puck among his close friends, and he has owned and operated several dining hotspots with his quasi-brother Francesco Antonucci (whose Manhattan bistro is Tihany’s favourite place to eat).

He has designed numerous restaurant interiors, luxury cruise ships and five-star hotels, including work for the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London, which recently underwent the most extensive revamp in its 117-year history. There, Tihany led the design of the spa, the Mandarin Bar, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and Bar Boulud.

So when Tihany says he prefers timeless concepts to trend-oriented designs, you take note and you appreciate why he was somewhat taken aback when culinary director and chef Richard Ekkebus of Amber in the Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong suggested that the iconic French restaurant needed a makeover.

The pair had collaborated on its original design in 2004 and, with several Michelin stars and a slew of other international awards to its name, it still seemed to Tihany to be a much loved, beautiful and relevant fixture on Hong Kong’s dining scene. When Ekkebus explained the method behind his madness to his close friend, however, Tihany came round to his way of thinking.