David Rockwell quotes:

Good restaurant design is about achieving equilibrium between the food, service, and design - in effect, telling a complete story.

Portable designs have the power to transform unused public spaces into dynamic environments that build and invite communal experiences.

Every project is an opportunity to learn, to figure out problems and challenges, to invent and reinvent.

You have to think of a restaurant as a series of impressions. But what makes my job so great is there's no one answer that's right for every restaurant.

I don't think of myself as a brand. Branding to me feels like a position or identity that's frozen in time. I'm more interested in transitions.

I like entertainment and think mastery is good, though I don't feel like a master. If a theme means having a story that's legible, then that's certainly what we do. But we don't treat design as an add-on layer.

In our highly mediated, technologically driven world, we're all looking for meaningful ways to connect. This has constantly inspired me to create environments full of lively, immersive, experiential elements specifically crafted to foster human connection.

But what makes my job so great is there's no one answer that's right for every restaurant.

My work is strongly rooted in place and memory, in personal, formative experiences that took shape within very different environments.

The design of a restaurant should embrace the identity of the chef, the nature of the cuisine, and the context of the restaurant itself.

Briefs need limitations and invitations

Technology should be used to create unforgettable experiences that enhance our natural and built environments, transforming them in newly meaningful ways.

Play and transformation were a bit part of my childhood - using whatever materials were at our disposal, my brothers and I would constantly build and create fantasy worlds.

The color and spectacle of Mexico's streets sparked my interest in community driven space and experience, a passion that I began to develop while studying architecture at Syracuse University and then at the Architectural Association School in London. Having been immersed in such a diverse array of lively environments, it would be impossible for me not to use these memories and experiences as inspiration for my work.