A background blend of traditional and industrial styling

Greek tradition meets French style, just south of Brussels and a few miles from the French border. Le Greco, a restaurant and wine bar in the Belgian town of Tournai, welcomes customers with its refined, understated styling and a creative, contemporary menu and wine list built around a fusion of Mediterranean flavours and fragrances.
Since its recent renovation, this Greek eatery, established in 1987, has become a truly boutique venue, where you can sit down and enjoy a meal, choose from a range of previously prepared dishes to take away, quaff a glass of Greek wine from the extensive wine list, or order a champagne cocktail served with a selection of tapas.
« The idea of refashioning the premises around an entirely new concept, » explained Jacek Pensko, the director of works, and Stratis Glinos, the interior designer, « has a knock-on effect on the owners, managers, staff and customers, both old and new. A change of image has prompted the team to take a new step forward in the quality of the services they offer. » To provide the right setting for exploring the delights of Greek cuisine, the new Le Greco has opted for warm, welcoming interiors, in dark, reassuring colours, while paying close attention to the stylistic balance of each area.
« The owners wanted the restaurant to reflect its newly refined culinary style, » continued Pensko and Glinos. « It’s always a pleasure to work with clients who understand and care about design, who have innovative business ideas and who set their standards high. Our task is to assimilate their suggestions and aspirations and then create a harmonious, physical form that expresses them. »
For the flooring, we chose black-painted terracotta, with a distinctive distressed effect that really brings out the appeal of the material, because the yellow ochre of the underlying terracotta shows through every brush-stroke on these 90x90cm tiles (Verde 1999, Ceramiche Campogalliano). « We opted for Italian coverings because of their quality and uniqueness, » explained the designers. « These really are exclusive creations because of the production process used to make them. Choosing floor tiles is a question of balancing form and function. The overall appearance takes top priority, but the product also has to be non-slip, abrasion-resistant and low-maintenance. »
At Le Greco, the two designers drew inspiration from industrial design, so their finished project features a variety of wall coverings, including concrete, exposed brick – in the style of an old cellar – railway sleepers and metal mesh panels with terracotta crockery and old work tools displayed behind them. The interior was then furnished with large, dark leather sofas and aged wood tables and chairs.
The diffused lighting, meanwhile, generates a warm, welcoming feel, and the Greek writing painted on the walls creates a fitting backdrop for an exquisite journey through Greek culinary heritage. The glass display cases, stacked with wine bottles, stand as a monument to the venue’s love of the grape, and the wine bar doubles up as a shop, where you can buy a drop of something special to take home.
According to Pensko and Glinos: « The real challenge is upholding the highest standards of design in every project you do, regardless of size and type. Every project is a new experience and a fresh opportunity for exploration. »