Wes Anderson Would Approve of This Trippy Restaurant

Hunker may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Learn more about our affiliate and product review process here.

Stepping inside The Pink Zebra — a new restaurant in the Indian city of Kanpur — is a trip, to say the least. Bathed in Pepto Bismol pink, its angled zebra-like stripes along the walls work to create a distinct carnival fun house feeling. If you're already getting Wes Anderson vibes, you'd be right on-point, as the director's iconic set design served as inspiration for the eatery. Sanchit Arora, head architect of Team Renesa Architecture Design Interiors, said that they looked to Anderson's self-contained, symmetrical style as a starting point, "... but adding that certain bizarre element to break that monotony of Wes's spatial ideology came through the black and white zebra lines dipping themselves in the pink monotone."

Advertisement

There's also a nod to the restaurant's context; art nouveau glamour and vintage-inspired luxury touches on the dense historical past of the area. In combination, eating there becomes less about food and more about an artistic experience. "The purpose of making The Pink Zebra was to speak of a complex and contradictory architecture based on the richness and ambiguity of old and modern experience[s] ... and leave the visitor hanging in the middle of an artistic sea," Arora said.

Video of the Day

Video of the Day

Or you might just be wondering if you're having a weird dream.

Expand
exterior
1 of 10

Exterior

The whimsical design marries historic and modern elements, making it difficult to discern whether the building was designed in the past or the present. No, seriously. What day is it? Where are we?

Expand
entrance
3 of 10

Entrance

Arora said they thought of dipping a zebra into a pink sea when concepting the plans. Which is also now a weird recurring dream we will have to discuss with our shrinks.

Expand
entrance
4 of 10

Entrance

We're starting to feel like we might never get out of here. I guess we live here now.

Expand
restaurant
5 of 10

Restaurant

So. Much. Pink.

Expand
booth
6 of 10

Booth

Maybe this is all one big psychological experiment?

Expand
restaurant
7 of 10

Restaurant

Although this could seriously be an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Expand
hallway
8 of 10

Hallway

Or a deleted scene from Willy Wonka. "Don't be a darned fool, Wonka! That's the way we came in!"

Expand
hallway
9 of 10

Hallway

Do you think the snozberries here taste like snozberries?


Advertisement

Report an Issue

screenshot of the current page

Screenshot loading...