First look at Dundee V&A's waterfront restaurant and cafe


At least 30 new jobs will be created in the new outlets which museum chiefs believe will create a new “food destination” on the banks of the River Tay.
London-based design studio Lumsden has offered the first glimpse of facilities which they say have been inspired by Dundee’s shipbuilding heritage.
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Hide AdThey will be available to hire for special events outwith the normal opening hours of the museum, which has been designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.


The firm, which is also masterminding the V&A Dundee shop, has previously designed facilities for the British Museum, National Theatre, Abbey Road Studios, Tate Modern and the Harry Potter Studio Tour.
Dundee V&A’s second-floor restaurant, which will offer views overlooking the Fife coastline, will boast 114 covers inside and another 36 on an al freso terrace.
The 74-cover cafe will be created in the main hall of the museum, which is due to the public in September.
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Hide AdThe restaurant and cafe will be run by the Edinburgh-based catering firm Heritage Portfolio, which already operates the cafes and restaurants at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, the Scottish Portrait Gallery, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Signet Library in the capital.
Dundee V&A director Philip Long said the catering facilities would help the new museum to “develop V&A Dundee as a food destination, attracting local people and tourists to spend time in our cafe, enjoy the river views from the restaurant terrace, or organise special events for businesses and private celebrations.”
Callum Lumsden, founder of the design studio, said: “ To be part of the creation of Scotland’s first design museum is a personal honour as well as a fantastic creative challenge for the Lumsden design team.
“The spaces we have been given to work with on this amazing piece of architecture are awesome and it has been our job to ensure that everyone’s visit to the museum is enhanced by their experience in the shop, restaurant and cafe zones.”