Restaurant Design by Bigtime
Bigtime has designed restaurants from Miami and Fort Lauderdale to Chicago, Portland, Maine, and Dubai, for chefs, independents, and hospitality groups. Our founder runs a restaurant of his own, so we design for 8 p.m. on a Saturday, not just for the photograph.
How we design a restaurant
The story comes first. At Glow, the name was the brief, so we put a 60-foot barrel vault over the dining room and a DJ in it. At Runway 84, we rebuilt a 1982 Fort Lauderdale supper club with gangster booths and a walnut ceiling lifted from a Sands ballroom. Once the story is right, the details choose themselves.
The kitchen is part of the room. At Beacon in Jupiter, a U-shaped exhibition kitchen anchors the dining room. At Union in Portland, Maine, the line is worked into the bar. Dinner comes with a view of its own making.
We build what we draw. Custom furniture, custom lighting, full FF&E. At Watusi, every fixture was designed and fabricated by our team. At CVLTVRA, we commissioned 75-inch steer heads and laid custom hex tile under a 22-foot ceiling.
Brand and room are one thing. We call it Marchitecture: naming, identity, graphics, and interiors built together, so the logo, the room, and the memory tell the same story.
We respect your clock and your budget. Oo La La in Chicago was designed and built in 45 days. Bobbi Sue BBQ in West Palm Beach was delivered on a limited budget and a quick turnaround. Both still got published.
What we do for restaurants
- Concept and storytelling
- Interior design
- Naming, branding, and graphics
- Custom furniture and lighting
- FF&E specification and procurement
Restaurants we’ve designed
Boatyard, Fort Lauderdale. 10,000 square feet of heavy timber and a 19-foot salvaged oar sculpture. Nautical without the theme-venue feel.
Boatyard 2.0, Fort Lauderdale. The same waterfront, taken deeper and moodier.
Runway 84, Fort Lauderdale. A supper club, reborn.
CVLTVRA, Miami. Latin America in one soaring room.
Angelina Ristorante, Chicago. Dinner in your grandmother’s dining room, if she had impeccable taste.
Union at The Press Hotel, Portland, Maine. Food as theater in an old newspaper building.
Beacon, Jupiter. Dinner and a show, except the show is dinner.
Pani, Aventura. The first US outpost of a South American favorite. Design is delicious.
Bagatelle Dubai, Dubai. Contemporary French dining inside a tufted velvet jewel box.
Oo La La, Chicago. Italian meets French, built in 45 days.
The proof
- Boatyard: OPAL Platinum for Interior Design, INT Award winner for Restaurant, BLT Built Design Honorable Mention, and a Restaurant & Bar Design Awards Shortlist, all in 2025.
- Oo La La: featured in Japanese Vogue.
- Vinyl, Chicago: featured in Interior Design Magazine.
- Five-time NEWH TopID firm: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2026.
“I want to express how grateful I am to be working in this beautiful restaurant. For the past year and a half I have basically lived here and each day am so impressed with the design and layout of the space. Thank you for giving me this incredible restaurant and just know that with each dish we are trying to enhance the design.” — Josh Berry, Executive Chef of The Press and Union Restaurants
Questions we hear
What does a restaurant designer actually do?
We turn a concept into a room people want to come back to: the layout, the materials, the lighting, the furniture, and the identity that ties them together. We also work with your chef and your operator, because a restaurant has to work at full speed before it can look good.
Do you design restaurants outside Florida?
Yes. Our restaurant work includes Chicago, Portland, Maine, and Dubai.
How long does a restaurant design take?
It depends on the size and the scope. The fastest we’ve done is Oo La La: designed and built in 45 days. We’ll give you a real timeline after we hear about your project.
How much does it cost?
That depends on the space and what you need. Our project form asks about your budget up front, so we can tell you quickly whether we’re a fit.
Do you work with restaurant groups as well as independents?
Both. We’ve designed for hospitality groups and for first-time owners with one room and one big idea.
More of what we design
Let’s talk about your restaurant
Tell us the concept, the city, and the budget. We reply fast.