Restaurateur and chef Hezret-Arslan Berdiev has brought Birch to Dubai, eight years after launch the original concept in St. Petersburg. DA BUREAU, the design team behind the first outpost, has returned for the UAE debut, this time with a mandate to push the concept further.
“We didn’t want to limit ourselves to the techniques we developed eight years ago,” the designers at DA BUREAU note. “We set ourselves the task of creating a new, mature Birch, where we would incorporate all the experience we’ve gained over the time.”
The result is a more layered, spatially complex project than its predecessor, one that uses material contrast and architectural continuity to stitch together a sequence of distinct environments.
A visual thread through the space
The organizing element of the Dubai interior is a veneered lamella that runs beneath the ceiling and extends throughout the restaurant. The designers describe it as a symbolic reference to the wood chips left over from the birch grove installation that defines the St. Petersburg outpost. Its curling, ribbon-like form creates visual momentum, drawing guests deeper into the space.
Separating the restaurant’s various functional zones are volumes of deep dark green marble, a grounding counterpoint to the warmth of the lamella above.
From the entrance to the table
The guest journey begins at a lounge bar positioned to the right of the entrance. Designed as a waiting area, it offers low seating by a fireplace as well as armchairs at the bar, giving guests a comfortable place to settle in with an aperitif before being escorted to their table.
Beyond the lounge, the main hall is divided into two zones: a semi-bar section and a low-seating area. A large communal table anchors the semi-bar section as a nod to the continuity of the St. Petersburg location, while the low-seating area is raised onto a podium.
The open kitchen, configured as four distinct islands, drives the room’s theatricality. Several tables face the kitchen, allowing guests to watch the culinary process, while a large marble service station delineates this zone from the general seating area.
Private spaces at Birch Dubai
Further inside, two distinctive rooms—a chef’s office and a private dining room—are partition by translucent glass wine refrigerators.
The chef’s office and lab centers on an island kitchen and a shelving system with niches for spices that Berdiev has collected from around the world. Adjacent to the lab, the private dining space opens onto its own terrace and is intended for exclusive culinary presentations. Its custom table operates in three layers: a white tablecloth forms the base, a multi-piece wooden surface with individual modules for each guest sits above it, and a mirrored layer rests on top.
