Turkish design firm Autoban’s first overseas project, the 208 Duecento Otto restaurant has recently opened in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.

What was once a meat storage warehouse has become an eye-catching Italian restaurant with a cosmopolitan modern feeling; now a striking rustic iron facade welcomes visitors.

Inspired by the surrounding district and a New York-style Italian menu, the design story fuses art and design, creating a fresh Bohemian energy.

The two-storey restaurant seats up to 90 people, with a bar on the ground floor - a warm private dining room for up to 18 people - which then leads up a staircase to the dining room on the first floor.

Blue and white ceramic tiles were used to decorate the interior walls which create a Chinese atmosphere while the leather bar stools suggest a more urban New York nightlife feel.

Italian New Yorker attitude mixed together with an Eastern ambiance offers 208's visitors a unique experience, yet the style throughout is pure Autoban; from steel pillars, via marble table tops, to their trademark solid walnut floors and ceilings.

Photography George Mitchell.