This Lower Manhattan Restaurant Doubles as an Immersive Black-and-White Sketchbook

Stepping into Shirokuro, the new Japanese omakase restaurant in New York City, you’d be forgiven for thinking you wandered into a sketchpad or a black-and-white storyboard. With the exception of an eclectic array of globe lights, some colorful ceramic dishes, and the open kitchen, the entire restaurant is rendered like a 2D drawing.

“Shirokuro” translates to “white-black.” The New York Times shares that proprietor James Lim was inspired by an immersive, 2D restaurant he visited ten years ago in Korea, and he envisioned one of his own, now open in the East Village. To make the interior pop, he invited his friend, real estate agent and artist Mirim Yoo, to transform the space into an all-encompassing environment.

a restaurant all in black-and-white with line-drawn details on every surface so that it appears like a living 2D drawing

Vibrant dishes are complemented by hand-drawn floors patterned like wooden planks and Japanese icons on the walls like bonsai, tea pots, cherry blossoms, and ukiyo-e compositions. “Our vision was to offer something unique: a place where art and food intersect in a living, breathing sketchbook,” the restaurant says.

You might also enjoy Mr. Doodle’s full house makeover or Anastasia Parmson’s hand-drawn installations.

a piece of fish on a plate, on a counter, all in black-and-white to resemble a 2D line drawing

a stairwell in a restaurant all in black-and-white with line-drawn details on every surface so that it appears like a living 2D drawing

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