El Cangrejo Loco Restaurant

The premises in question occupy the ground floor of two adjoining buildings with very different characteristics. The differences are undoubtedly due to the aesthetic criteria and regulations applicable to the buildings in each of the periods in which they were built. While one of them has a considerable interior height, the other is very low; while the first is narrow and deep, the second is wide but shallow. From the street, it might appear that each of the premises belongs to a different business.

The premises, intended before and after the renovation for catering, were intended to keep the existing kitchen and give a new character to the rest of the spaces.

The part of the premises belonging to the more recently constructed building is mainly occupied by a large bar. The other part is used exclusively as a dining room, clearly differentiating two areas, the more interior one with a more proportionate, more square geometry, and the one closer to the street with a geometry where one dimension prevails over the other, giving rise to a long, narrow space.

The idea is to create different atmospheres by taking advantage of the different volumetries of each of the spaces. This makes it possible to propose different menu formulas depending on whether one or the other dining room is occupied.

One of the main objectives was to achieve first-rate acoustic insulation. The various dining rooms are completely lined with insulating material to prevent the transmission of sound to the upper floor dwelling. Different sound-absorbing materials are used in each case to give each room its own character. While in the main dining room there is a lattice in the ceiling, leaving the insulating materials in the background, hidden by the lattice itself, in the other dining room it is the absorbent material itself that gives the finish to the walls and ceilings.

Another of the main objectives was to allow natural light into the innermost room of the premises. To achieve this, it was necessary to recover two small courtyards, which had originally existed at the innermost end of the plot.

In the main dining room, we resorted to craftsmanship, specifically the work of the plasterer, for the creation of a perimetral hatch in the main dining room; this allowed us to return to this area the aesthetics of the interiors of the buildings constructed during the first half of the 20th century. Instead of using floral motifs, we used the figures of fish, as the restaurant’s speciality is fish.

Otherwise, this room is rather austere. It is the interplay between the latticework on the ceiling, the escocia at the junction between walls and ceiling, the perimeter bench and the patios of light that define the space. White dominates the walls and ceiling, but the blue of the enamelled pieces used as cladding in the patios and the blue of the upholstery of the benches play an important role. The oak floor adds warmth and the wicker armchairs, which again allude to craftsmanship, give “freshness” to the space.

The other dining room, the one that occupies a narrower and longer area, maintains a single tone. An oak floor and a ceiling and walls covered with pressed wood fibre boards. An acoustically comfortable space.

It also has a bench, but in this case only along one of the walls. This allows tables to be grouped or separated as required.

The beams in the ceiling and the pilasters on the walls generate a rhythm, a sequence, which we accentuate by painting the fissures between the beams. This is where we place the accent of the craftsman, that of the painter, who draws scenes linked to the sea on each of the ceilings.

The third dining room is located in the most modern building. It is the one that leads into the restaurant; the one that is mainly occupied by a bar, in a central position.

The intention is for this space to function as an attraction for those who walk along the pavement. Its façade is wide, all glazed, and allows a full view of the interior.