The Purple Onion Restaurant

The new French Concession hotspot designed by Lime 388 opens its doors!


Conceptualized by David Laris, Purple Onion has been directly inspired from the French Bistrot and Italian Trattoria. The Design features all the codes of these typical spaces yet deepening, sharpening and reinterpreting their usual characteristics.



For instance, like the Bistrot is the homelike and popular kinds of place where you can always meet someone that you know, Purple Onion exhibits a series of oil-painting portraits representing the venue’s ancestors. Witnesses of the time passing by, these characters, all of them sipping a glass of wine or a cocktail, are yet winking at the present by sharing a drink with the guests. The traditional family portrait is here hijacked to keep its familiar feeling while bringing to it humor and modernity.


The space has been treated around 3 colors, black, purple and white. The Black, prevailing the restaurant part, reveals the emotions and conveys a feeling of intimacy and comfort strengthened by the home-style fireplace. Foremost, the black color states for style and elegance. In the Lounge area, the Purple - a generous and sophisticated color specially created for the space - brings a warm, welcoming and glamorous atmosphere. Finally, the white gives a pretext to contrast and highlight the two predominant colors, as does the use of mat and glossy materials.



Beside the bar and fine dining areas, Purple Onion also benefits from a stunning tree-shaded courtyard protected from the street that gives ones the opportunity to enjoy the outside part of the old building.



Nested in the heart of a small lane, Purple Onion is an intimate cocoon free from the city ‘s craziness, an island of peace where it feels like home, yet a trendy and glamorous one. Beyond the restaurant, the Design allows Purple Onion to become a whole small universe doted of a strong identity with its culture, characters and tasty cuisine created by the very talented Chef Lex Hauser.

The Purple Onion
Huashan Lu, Lane 351, House n. 16
Shanghai - CHINA
www.thepurpleonionsh.com