Inspired by the aesthetics of the Tokyo underground, the new Tan Street restaurant is a street food venue in the centre of Turin. The design conceived by Velvet Studio distances itself from the imagery of all light wood, paper curtains and clean lines typical of mainstream Japanese eateries; the reference here is to a Tokyo underground station, where you speed past illuminated signs, city traffic banners and signs in hiragana characters. From Tan Street you look out onto canopies that are a little reminiscent of super-automated ticket offices and a little like the kiosks that feed workers at rush hour, amidst metal ceilings and modern lanterns: “We reflected on the element of innovation to be introduced, with a design that is partly evocative, partly our own personal interpretation of the concept of the contemporary Asian”.