Exquisite aesthetic taste

Since it was launched in Mexico about a decade ago, the Anderson Group-owned restaurant chain Porfirio’s has garnered international recognition and in 2018 was named by Forbes magazine as one of the finest restaurants in Mexico. Along with the existing four venues in Masaryk, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Altavista, in 2019 the owners opened four new locations in Merida, Playa del Carmen, Parque Toreo and Guadalajara.
The new restaurant in Guadalajara, the capital of the federal state of Jalisco, proved an instant success and was booked out from day one. It was named Global 2019 Winner for the Restaurant category in the prestigious International Hotel & Property Awards 2019 hosted by UK magazine design-et-al.
Porfirio’s is an icon of Mexican cuisine, revisited and interpreted in a splendid fusion of local tradition and innovative culinary techniques. The project for the Guadalajara restaurant, with a floor space of 395 square metres and a seating capacity of 211 guests, was assigned to the architectural firm of Filipao Nunes.
Born in Portugal, Nunes studied architecture first in Oporto under Álvaro Siza and Souto de Moura and later in Valladolid, Spain, after which he began working in Madrid. During a six-month exchange internship with a Mexican practice, he felt so at home in the world’s most populous Spanish-speaking country that he decided to stay. He worked for a year and a half at the acclaimed practice of Agustín Landa Vértiz and then founded his own studio in San Pedro Garza García.
For this particular project, Filipao Nunes aimed to reinterpret elements of traditional Mexican architecture from the Porfiriato period and develop a project that would be daring, hybrid, comfortable and spectacular. As he himself explains in a video published on his Facebook page: «At first the client didn’t really identify with our vision of the project. It isn’t easy to accept change, but the results were positive right from the start. People liked the location and it acquired a distinct personality. This is why we decided to submit the project to the competition organised by the UK magazine design-et-al.»
According to the statement issued by the International Hotel & Property Awards 2019, Filipao Nunes Arquitectos used prestigious materials such as walnut wood, brass laminates, tapestries and marble- and wood-look porcelain combined with carefully designed, atmospheric lighting. The overall result is a relaxing and welcoming atmosphere, enhanced by the terrace and the use of hanging vegetation to create a jungle look and blur the distinction between exterior and interior.
Two porcelain tile collections from Caesar were chosen for the project: Anima, in the Statuary Venato version, and Root, in the colour Nocciola.
Being Portuguese, Filipao Nunes loves the sea, sailing and the works of the great poet Fernando Pessoa, and to our delight, his favourite holiday destination is the island of Capri.