Stories from the Silk Road
Step back in time to the age of exploration and trade, where the rich culinary traditions of Persia and the Levant come alive on the Quayside of modern Newcastle. DOOD (Smoke in Persian) connects past and present in a unique dining experience.
The Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes linking East and West, was a conduit for the exchange of ideas, cultures, and, of course, culinary delights. Among its many routes, none was more vibrant than the stretch that wove through Persia and the sun-kissed lands of the Levant. And DOOD’s menu showcases classic Persian and Levantine dishes, prepared over open flames and infused with spices such as saffron, nutmeg, and sumac — ingredients first introduced to Europe by ancient traders.
Run For The Hills was tasked with creating the brand and designing the restaurant’, situated in a Grade II listed building that once served as a map printing house for Newcastle’s maritime industry. This endeavour has been a true labour of love and an intense collaboration with our talented friends in the North. We love it when we do the brand and the interiors together, to make sure they’re as infused as much as possible. But it’s not often that we go into the level of detail we did for this project.
Crafting the brand
Sandblasted, aged paper and rusty corten textures feature heavily and inspire the burnt orange, charcoal and cream brand palette. We designed a bespoke ‘DOOD’ logotype with multiple straplines. Also introducing a logomark made from the letter ‘D’ that tops and tails the restaurant’s palindromic name. We added a secondary mysterious logomark in the form of the word ‘smoke’ written in Persian to tease the launch of the restaurant and keep people guessing.
Bringing the brand world together, we designed and launched a slick website (have a look over here) full of storytelling and quirky animations. Telling people the history of the building and the fascinating origins of the cuisine.
The rich brand narrative draws inspiration from the nomadic travellers of the Silk Road, a theme interwoven throughout the interiors. A transporting vision brought alive in custom-designed fabrics adorning walls, ceilings and furnishings — our contemporary spin on the art of Persian rugs, featuring the Farsi alphabet and symbolic language illustrated within our rug and wall hanging designs. Our team of artist-designers created a collection of art for the project — hand painted, drawn in charcoal and pastels, framed and printed on fabrics. An evocative, rich mix of pieces featuring camels, nomads and other scenes from the Silk Road. Central to our brand world is an accurate 12th century map showing all the trading routes from Constantinople across to China. In-venue brand assets created were designed to extend to every touchpoint, from a suite of menus and gift cards to super stylish staff uniforms and even designing DOOD’s own Nomad’s Tale Pale Ale beer.
The shopfront
DOOD’s exterior is fully clad in rusty, storytelling corten with softly illuminated signage shining out across the River Tyne. Guests enter through a cobbled, covered walkway lined with art, found objects from the silk road, suspended lanterns and draped foliage. Shelving is adorned with ancient Persian coin rubbings, baskets and vessels of spice, dried flowers, clay jugs and other weathered ceramics. All on shelves in front of a textured wallpaper of our Silk Road map.
Designing the interiors
Such a rich, evocative brand world called for an experiential interior concept. Which our interiors team grounded in details from stories around the hostelries nomadic merchants would dine and sleep in along the route. Merchants would re-fuel and lay their heads in tents, temporary settlements and carved rock caravanserai. All of which inspired the design of DOOD’s bygone tented shapes, pole structures, silk draping and organic, stone-inspired bar forms. Wait and host station joineries and banquette seating designs in the dining areas use similar cues, designed to create an other-worldly feel.
FF&E furniture choices in the scheme are rustic, hand-crafted and solid in form, harking back to a former time, in richly dark smouldering timbers, burnished metals and dramatically marbled stones. Upholstery and textiles are inspired by ancient travel, with motifs invoking rivers, valleys and roads uniting people and cultures along its path; patinated leathers, woven patterned fabrics updated by way of Persia and the Levant motifs.
Highlight features include: custom twisted metal rope knot staircase handrails, bespoke nomad tiles, ancient studding, rivets, turned timber balustrading and finials adorning the winding staircase structure connecting DOOD’s three dining zones and bar. The bar’s suspended bedouin tented canopy shelters a warm timber and amber coloured gantry with antiqued glass glowing day and night. Reflective and leather-textured tiling, juxtaposed with layered upholstery, auburn glass and twisted rope light fittings creates an arms-open welcome to diners looking for a transporting culinary experience.
More than just a restaurant, DOOD is a cultural haven where guests from around the globe gather to savour the flavours of a bygone era. Here, diners are invited to immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of the Silk Road’s culinary heritage, breaking bread with fellow travellers and experiencing the legacy of the nomads, merchants, and adventurers who shaped our world.
