Located along the Singapore River, a stone’s throw away from the old godowns(warehouses) of Clarke Quay, Porta’s interiors reinterpret the story of a well-travelled merchant of fine foods opening up his home to the neighbourhood. The careful division of the space creates unique and intimate spaces to eat, drink and relax in, without compromising on service.

We worked closely with the kitchen team to suggest cuisines to support the updated storytelling, but also to repurpose the original cold preparation area to support buffet replenishment, a butcher station and retail displays.

PORTA embodies the spirit of a mysterious smuggler of fine foods, who is smart, suave and well-travelled. This persona has a classy and rogue charm.

The eclectic space serves as his warehouse, a curious hidden cargo of foods, which holds a precious retail and dining experience.

The PORTA brand is also expressed as an emblem. This brandmark is a three-legged crow — a mythical creature from the legends and stories of the Far East. The three-legged crow is believed by East Asian cultures to inhabit and represent the sun. It symbolises wisdom and enlightenment.

We sought to blur the lines between the outside and inside areas by using graphic patterning of tiles.

The atmosphere of “tropical home” permeates the space from the abundance of soft finishing and plants, to the addition of a selection of antiques and curious shopping ledgers.

Our custom designed stencil typeface based on old fruit packaging stencils from Italy and numerous other packing crates of yesteryear, leads the way in the restaurant’s identity. We created a sigil that would identify our merchant wares and created a host of doorway inspired graphics to complement the varied typographic doodads.