Be Seen, Be Served

THE HOTTEST RESTAURANT trend isn’t about louder decor or longer menus – it’s about making the dining room feel like it already knows you. As Juan Romero, President and CEO of Tampa, Fla.-based design firm api(+), put it: “We’ve always been in the business of immersive environments … anything that makes people emotionally connect with the space.”

That connection begins before the first bite at Fleming’s in Tampa, Fla. – api(+)’s reimagination of the classic California steakhouse. The arrival is choreographed as a “procession,” with valet, walkway and dramatic doors, setting the stage for what lies inside. Guests aren’t just eating, they’re part of the show. “It’s a place to see and be seen and a place where you bring people to enjoy, frankly, an expensive dinner,” says Romero.

Fleming’s in Tampa, Fla., tailors the mood for guests through lighting and acoustics.

Personalization runs deep. Fleming’s keeps detailed histories of the preferences of regulars: meat temperatures, wine choices, anniversaries. The result is a hospitality that feels almost psychic. “They basically bring you what you know you wanted,” says Jeffery Nader, Studio Director at api(+).

Tech enables this, but it’s discreet. Behind the curtain, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system remembers your favorites. On the floor, zoned lighting and acoustics create micro-environments tailored to mood – while one corner buzzes with bar chatter, another hushes into intimacy.

Design details sharpen the sense of place. A bar crafted from compacted seashell and sea glass nods to Tampa’s coast. Overhead, geometric ceiling treatments act help tune noise levels. The private dining rooms open onto an enclosed garden, where greenery, breeze blocks and layered lighting blur indoors and outdoors. Even the fixtures carry storytelling weight: Chandeliers inspired by hanging liquor bottles, honeycomb-like motifs and vine-covered façades weave local flair into a global design language.

Ortensia’s private dining spaces feature design cues of the larger dining space, including the A-frame ceiling and exposed beams.

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Crucially, this new steakhouse model welcomes demographics historically excluded. “We wanted a cozier environment for women, who were kept out of steakhouse culture,” says Nader. Softer finishes, inventive cocktails and flexible menus ensure multi-generational, multi-occasion appeal.

On the other side of the world, in Shanghai’s Zhangyuan district, Ortensia weaves a multicultural experience while still providing a comfortable and intimate setting for guests. Founded by a Japanese chef and a Chinese pastry chef, Ortensia’s interior is built on comfortable charm with refinement. Case in point, an all-encompassing A-frame ceiling with exposed beams, soft amber and pastel shades, warm wood paneling and round-edged velvet seating serve a homey space reminiscent of the elegantly rustic architecture of the French countryside.

Ortensia curates a homey, welcoming interior with warm amber shades, dark wood and glowing illumination.

Ortensia offers guests private dining spaces and VIP rooms on its second floor. These private hideaways continue Ortensia’s design motifs – A-frame ceilings with exposed beams, wood paneling and velvet furnishings – only in a miniature format, creating a home away from home for the night.

Floral decor, derived from Ortensia’s name (from the flower hortensia), is seen throughout the restaurant’s multiple floors, with multiple bouquets used as table centerpieces and watercolor murals purposefully faded into the walls so as not to overwhelm the senses. Designed by Chris Shao Studio (New York), the interior’s bespoke elements all together create a restaurant that welcomes guests with comfort.

This is the epitome of restaurant design in 2025. Immersive environments that flex to their guests – not a generic spectacle, but intimate theatre, where the lights, music, menu and memory all feel like they’ve been tuned to you.

PHOTO GALLERY (65 IMAGES)

PHOTOS: ZHU HAI STUDIO | DUSTIN WORTH, VENICE, FLA.