Merging the energy and tenacity of Athens with the hustle of London’s iconic Borough Market for a unique souvlabar.

How do you merge the gritty, rebellious Athenian spirit with the humdrum life of Borough Market? By allowing a 15lm shopfront at a unicorn site on Bedale Street to literally open up and allow these two worlds to spill into one another. A hard-fought planning application allowed us to do just that and, in turn, create a space that activated all the senses – not to quieten, but to excite.

AGORA’s palette is dark and dirty, authentically London yet simultaneously bravely Greek and full of big, bold pieces. Every detail, tone, stain, texture, and colour is tightly woven together and carefully considered. Lighting from Greece by the visionary Athenian artist Mariza Galani is nestled next to sharing tables handmade in a Peckham workshop. An intricate patterned flooring of salvaged grain store tiles gives the restaurant texture and story. The curves of the stools and statement graphic lighting sourced from Mexico offer organic curves that punctuate the strong linear rhythm from the rich oak louvered screens.

AGORA is a space of contrasts – light and dark, rough and smooth, energy and balance. It is both an uplifting respite from the mania of Borough Market, while also generating its own sense of urban cool. These contrasts, through the architecture and interior art direction, blend seamlessly to become something wholly AGORA’s own. We created something emotional. Not just something that could be seen, but felt.