Noodle Story – Alleyway Eatery
Following the success of Noodle Story’s Corner Eatery in Helsinki’s Kallio neighborhood, Yatofu Creatives was invited back to help create the restaurant’s second location, situated in a large shopping mall in Greater Helsinki’s city of Espoo. Looking to extend the warmth and intimacy of Noodle Story’s first restaurant into a populated and cold commercial shopping mall, Yatofu once again sought inspiration from the Asian street food scene. Bustling yet discreet eateries tucked into old alleyways are commonplace in China, and through combining the architectural language of these eateries with that of Finnish wooden cottages, the design concept places emphasis on blending the warmth and feeling of familiarity between these cultural experiences.
The design references the honesty and simplicity of traditional Finnish wooden houses, embellished with details that directly draw from Asian influences. Elements such as the use of brass hardware, Chinese calligraphy, wooden menu plaques, and exposed antique lightbulbs, infuses the base structure of raw wood with cultural contrast and nostalgic character.
The kitchen sits at the center of the premise, raised as a wooden volume clad in local pine planks. Two alleyways are therefore formed on the sides of the volume to serve as seating areas. In heavily populated cities in Asia, many street-facing restaurants have small and limited storefronts and customer often sit in provisional seating areas set up in the side alleys. Although temporary and somewhat makeshift, these alleys offer refuge and a break from the chaotic city streets. By introducing the two sloped-ceiling alleyways into Noodle Story’s spatial planning, customers are provided a sense of privacy and intimacy in an otherwise busy and cold commercial space.
Though differing in location and in concept, Noodle Story’s Alleyway Eatery successfully conveys the core value of the original Corner Eatery: An open kitchen for the city and its people; where the light is always on, the food warm and delicious, and an inviting ambience ready to welcome its customers.
Photography: Aleksi Tikkala
Still-life stylist: Piia Emilia