# Minimalist Italian Restaurants The Minnibar Restaurant Fuse Japanese Minimalism with Raw Interiors By Amy Duong | Published 2026-08-03 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/minnibar References: [minnibar](https://www.minnibar.ca/)  The Minnibar restaurant by [Ivy Studio](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/buvette-daphne) occupies the ground floor of a residential tower in downtown Montreal, where exposed concrete floors, columns, walls, and ceilings define the interior. A central volume houses the kitchen, bar, and pizza counter, allowing dining spaces to wrap around the perimeter beneath six-metre ceilings. A cream-colored stone café counter transitions into a [white oak omakase-style ledge](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/omakase-restaurant), while a black dining shelf extends along the perimeter windows to create additional seating. The interior pairs a restrained monochromatic palette with hand-plastered walls, textured stone, stained ash and oak, and translucent textiles. Ivy Studio also introduced its first in-house designed chair, crafted from ash wood with softly curved legs and a delicate backrest. Triangular motifs appear throughout the millwork, lighting, wine cellar windows, and bar footrest, while rice-paper screens provide shade and improve acoustics. A custom stainless steel DJ booth developed with Procedures Industries anchors the main dining space. Image Credit: Alex Lesage ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 3.5/10 - Popularity: 7% | Activity: 10% | Freshness: 88% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Japandi Dining Interiors:** Hybrid Japanese-Italian restaurant aesthetics create space for hospitality brands to differentiate through calm minimalism, tactile materials, and culturally blended spatial storytelling. - **Raw Luxury Hospitality:** Exposed concrete, plaster, stone, and natural wood signal a shift toward refined unfinished environments that make premium dining feel architectural, intimate, and less conventional. - **Multifunctional Restaurant Layouts:** Centralized kitchen, bar, pizza, music, and counter-service zones reveal new formats where restaurants operate as flexible dining, entertainment, and social design destinations. ### Who This Affects Most - **Restaurant Design:** Minimalist material palettes and custom furniture point to emerging demand for distinctive branded interiors that function as memorable assets beyond food service. - **Commercial Furniture:** In-house chair design and bespoke millwork highlight opportunities for hospitality venues to develop proprietary furnishings that reinforce identity and improve spatial cohesion. - **Acoustic Architecture:** Rice-paper screens, high ceilings, and textured surfaces demonstrate how sound management is becoming integral to visually striking restaurant environments with elevated guest comfort. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Timber Tiny Homes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/redwood.md) - [Compact Mobile Homes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/rogue-mini.md) - [Heritage Rain Umbrellas](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/gat-umbrella.md) - [Cedar Shingled House Designs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/dune-houses.md) - [Sculptural Table Lamps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/jello-lamp.md) - [Sculptural Rocking Chairs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/dooal.md) - [Award-Winning Design Firms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/found-projects.md) - [Three-Tower Mixed-Use Developments](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/threetower-mixeduse-development.md) - [Ai Learning Guitars](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tempolor-melod.md)