STARTER
Hakkasan Mandarin Oriental BODRUM
Words: Shanna McGoldrick
H
akkasan, the restaurant credited with
That isn’t to say Hakkasan’s signature
putting Cantonese haute cuisine on
aesthetic has been diluted. From the Calacatta
the map in the UK, is known almost as
marble welcome desk with outsized logo
much for its signature slick interiors as it is for
backdrop, to the backlit blue glass bar that
its food. But for the brand’s tenth opening, it
features a brass trim shaped into a trademark
pushed the boat out even further than usual.
Hakkasan
design
accents
Bodrum is the chain’s first fully open-air venue.
above the bar is a series of Chinese-inspired
The restaurant, which is set within Mandarin
contemporary pendants, affixed to the overhead
Oriental Bodrum on Turkey’s southwest coast,
wooden pergola, with each beam culminating
made its debut in June 2021 and is one of two
in a brass Hakkasan logo. Subdivider screens
new Hakkasan openings in the region, with an
bearing the same symbol are dotted throughout
Istanbul outpost also in the pipeline.
the space – many of them constructed from
of the sea, the restauraunt’s décor carries a
000
the
unmistakably belong to the brand. Hanging
As befits a space offering sweeping views
IN A BITE Operator: Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Hakkasan Group Interior Design: Campbell House Chef: Sky Wong Kum Choy Glassware: Nude, John Jenkins www.hakkasan.com
pattern,
Overlooking the Aegean Sea, Hakkasan
timber, but some from rope, in another nod to the coastal location.
nautical touch. Global interior design firm
Executive Chef Sky Wong Kum Choy’s menu
Campbell House employed chic timber decking,
includes plenty of the signature Hakkasan items
maritime fabrics and roping detail to make for
that have won the chain such acclaim over the
charming reference to gulets – the traditional
last decade. Popular items include crispy duck
sailing boats that bob in the water beyond. The
salad, crispy skin salt and pepper pumpkin tofu
seating upholstery and soft furnishings are
and smoked beef ribs, while there is also an
also inspired by Turkey’s rich textile heritage,
emphasis on sharing plates such as black pepper
anchoring the eatery to its environment.
beef puffs.
