Minty Freshness
There’s a new trend in healthy living and Lagos is taking huge strides in finding less calories in our meal plans. Many startups in the hospitality industry in Nigeria are starting to distinguish themselves with a hallmark of excellence. One of such is Mint by Eat Green Company.
Mint has positioned itself at the forefront of this alternative #fitfam lifestyle and has done so by sticking to strict guidelines on their menu. Their ethos is factored around making meals simpler and healthier, while keeping things fresh. The interior spaces of the restaurant and bar also reflect the brands values and originality. As you walk in, you are immediately welcomed by their waiters, dressed in red and green patterned Ankara shirts by the wooden counter. Their turf grass-covered logo wall in the background symbolically represents Mints organic inclination but most importantly, the space draws you in.
There is a children’s play area introduced behind the logo wall, to allow the kids to have a head start at being health nuts too. The owners must be well traveled because you don’t really see a lot of children’s play areas in Lagos. It is truly an added benefit and especially encouraging for parents who want to stay healthy.
One of the first things that strikes your eye in the dining area is the reflective copper pendant lights. They hover over the banquette seats and 4-seater tables, creating the right ambience and environment for the consumer. There are two niches created in the wall by the booths, which features tree branches cleverly weft together to form a birds nest partition. The wooden screens are one of the best visual privacy examples in Lagos hospitality.
Another clever detail is the passage that leads you either to the bathrooms on the ground floor, or the entryway for the stairs leading to the rooftop. These openings have been clad in wood, and framed to create a unique contrast between spaces. The design cues are a great way of the space engaging conversationally with its end user, subtly informing them that they are at the threshold of another space.
Not only is the restaurant skilled at how to make you indulge in food without making you guilty, it infuses parts of our African culture into it. The rooftop follows along the same dictates as the raw, organic, and fresh aura of the restaurant below. Raw, unpainted, bamboo shoots lace the covered bar and seating area, at the rooftop, while canopies are positioned in strategic areas to allow guests enjoy sitting out, without being harassed by our scorching sun or monsoon rain. The space was conceptualized and actualized by Interior Living who were also in charge of creating the one-of- a-kind ceiling fan. (You should check it out).
Of all the organic details in the restaurant / bar, green life is literarily introduced at the roof top. Potted creeper plants have been placed close to the walls, so that the rooftop organically evolves over time, creating a live wall, different from the logo wall in the restaurant below. Simply Green Juices also has a mini farm going on up there, with three planters filled with plants and herbs that service the kitchen.
Mint by EGC is taking giant leaps in the utilization of indigenous materials within Nigeria’s hospitality sector and word has it that their lounge will be unveiled soon. Layer by layer, the company holds itself to high standards and I am on the edge of my seat, anticipating what they will do next.
Till next time.
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1 Comments
Love the article. Can’t wait to visit.
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