La Serre Bistro & Boulangerie, Vida Downtown Dubai

Encased in a beautiful two-storey glass facade, La Serre consists of a traditional Parisian boulangerie on the ground floor and a bistro on the first floor.

Combining the charm of a Parisian street café with the electricity of a Downtown Dubai hotspot, La Serre Boulangerie is a neighbourhood hub which hums from sunrise to late evening. Boasting some of the freshest bread and pastries in the city and a shaded terrace perfect for people-watching, La Serre Boulangerie is the ultimate residents’ eatery.

The venue at the newly refurbished Vida Hotel on Emaar Boulevard, Down Town Dubai, was a first-off for Dubai’s evolving restaurant scene. A home grown and bespoke brand created for a renowned celebrated chef was to encompass two differing floor levels encased by a newly applied glazed architectural envelope.

The venue was considered to be a natural extension of the surrounding urban scape as the façade and main entrance embraced the boulevard of Dubai’s Down Town development. The client’s brief required for a stylish eatery split between two floors. Upon the ground floor was to be located a more casual walk-in dining experience with an integrated Boulangerie offering freshly prepared dishes, daily fresh patisseries and bread. This was considered as a natural extension or overflow to the boulevard and was reflected in the use of materials, furniture, details and finishes applied within, with the emphasis concentrated upon the open kitchen and food preparation areas forming an integral dynamic to the space.

The mezzanine level was required to have a more refined feel throughout, although still retaining a comfortable appeal. The requirement upon this floor was to accommodate a chef’s table that would be a versatile space allowing it to open up to the main show kitchen and an accommodating drinks bar for pre and post dining as well as a more formal dining experience for lunch and evening sittings, yet still maintaining a physical and metaphysical connection to the venue below.