Did you know that acoustics, noise, and background music have a significant impact on the way our senses perceive what we eat and drink? The most successful bars and restaurants prioritise sound, to create a lasting impression and elevate the customer experience. 

However, designing an audio system for a bar or restaurant is significantly more challenging than you may think. The versatility afforded through the proper design of audio zones to ensure the volume stays at a comfortable level, the right amount to set the mood without making conversation and architectural challenges around loudspeaker options. We have solutions that solve all these problems. Our speakers are discreet and customisable, they seamlessly integrate into the indoor or outdoor decor, hiding technology and preserving aesthetic appeal.

We’ve rounded up the top restaurant and bar projects we’ve been involved in around the world!

Migas Mercados Restaurant, Beijing

The Challenge
Eduardo Gutierrez knows a thing or two about good sound from working in one of Ibiza’s legendary nightclubs. So when it came to equipping Migas Mercado, his new Spanish restaurant and music venue in Beijing, he turned to K-array. Migas Mercado recently moved from the iconic CCTV building to the China World Mall, with its city skyline and terrace backdrop, set up for alfresco dining and nightly DJ sets. The sound requirements for the bar/restaurant was to have high quality SPLs while ensuring that conversation could still flow, and speaker cabinets didn’t overwhelm the décor. Additionally, a raised VIP dining room which doubles as a stage for regular live music nights needed to be suitably equipped. 

The Solution
Four Kobra-KK102 loudspeakers, four Kobra-KK52 loudspeakers, two Rumble-KU212 double 12-inch subs, two Rumble-KU210 double 10-inch subs, and two Rumble-KU26 double 6-inch subs were installed in the venue. 6 Tornado-KT2 2-inch point sources speakers provide extra coverage where needed. The entire indoor system is powered by Kommander-KA14, KA24 and KA84 amplifiers. Outdoors, a further eight Kobra-KK52 line arrays and four Rumble-KU210 subs were teamed up with four Domino-KF212 double 12-inch full range speakers and four Thunder-KMT18P 18-inch subs driven by Kommander-KA24 and KA84 amps. The system was zoned into four areas for restaurant background music, indoor DJs, terrace DJs and live music from the stage. Control over the individual zones was accomplished via the use of Kommander amplifiers used to power the system. Thanks to the digital processor inside our amps, we easily carried out signal routing as well as adjusting the level and EQ. Outside, the Dominos provided full range sound in the nearfield. It's a traditional design but using neodymium magnetic drivers, so while the cabinet was thin, it was also very powerful.

The Maine Mayfair, London

The Challenge
Introduced to the complete re-fit project by management company Gardiner & Theobald, Richmond-based technology specialist KNEKTD took on Ghazal’s very specific brief for a highly flexible, high quality audio system with minimal visual presence throughout the restaurant. For the focal Brasserie dining space Ghazal wanted to feature a high SPL but intimate central live performance space with the atmosphere of a private nightclub. Having been impressed by the K-array audio system at a private members club in South London, KNEKTD director Shaun Wilson called upon 2B Heard to fulfil the restaurateur’s vision: “With aesthetics and performance firmly at the top of the list we looked for a speaker brand that would help us create the atmospheric mood that Joey had envisaged. I knew from experience that K-array speakers would really suit the space in a way that few other brands could.”

Crucially, a prime objective was creating the right aesthetic – making sure that the speakers fitted in well and suited the environment, making them disappear into the room and feel a part of the room so you don’t even notice that they’re there. Finding suitable loudspeaker locations required extensive research, but Dave Wooster’s KF3D K-framework acoustic simulations predicted accurate audio coverage of all areas with a specification based on Kayman, Python, and Vyper line arrays, supplemented with Rumble and Thunder subwoofers. As live music is such a prominent and integral feature of the restaurant experience, a high degree of functionality and interactivity was also necessary to allow sound techs to take full control of the system.

The Solution
The Brasserie features a full-on live performance rig with a Yamaha audio console and stage-box augmenting the acoustic drum kit and full complement of Sennheiser microphones and IEMs. All the live and BGM sources play through Kayman-KY102 and Python-KP52 line arrays on custom low-profile wall mounts designed to maintain accurate alignment while being visually discreet. Vyper-KV25 mini line arrays are deployed as in-fills in subtle corner locations. All the speakers are reinforced on the low end by Thunder-KMT218P subwoofers hidden in custom enclosures and an array of Rumble-KU210 subwoofers hidden in the ceiling.

In the ground floor Tavern, twin decks and a Pioneer desk are at the front end of the mostly hidden K-array sound system, with the Vyper-KV25 mini line arrays located behind custom fabricated wall grilles and Rumble-KU26 subwoofers providing low end grunt from bespoke floor-mounted cabinets. Downstairs in the secret VIP lounge on the lowest level, accessed only through a mirrored door so you wouldn’t even know it’s there, is an opulent hide-away equipped with a high-SPL DJ system consisting of Python-KP52 line arrays on custom low-profile mounts and under-seating Rumble-KU212 subwoofers that just disappear into the subtly lit highly plush environment. For those with the right credentials and a strong desire for a party scene, it’s a thumping nightclub down there.

Even the toilet lobby has been given the full sonic treatment, with custom finish Tornado-KT2 point source satellites covering the space supplemented by Rumble-KU44 subwoofers concealed in the central island. The main speaker systems are mostly powered by Kommander-KA84 Dante-equipped DSP amplifiers located in the lower ground floor rack room, together with an Innosonix MA32/D multi-channel DSP-amplifier with Dante providing power for some of the BGM systems.

The Happy Customer
“The speakers look great and they suit the space beautifully, which is what the client was really focused on. It’s all about the environment. I’ve really enjoyed working with Joey and I’m really proud to have been part of helping to fulfil his highly imaginative dream. He’s loving the system and it’s working well.”

Shaun Wilson - KNEKTD Director 

The Standard Dining Club, Sao Paulo

The Challenge
Standard Dining Club – located in Campinas, one of the most vibrant gastro scenes in São Paulo – is a combination of international cuisine, beautiful interior design and modern technology to give its customers a sensorial experience through light, video and sound. Created by entrepreneurs André Morete and Paulo Anttogneto, the architects' scope for the 365-m² space was to harmonise natural elements, like slate and marble, with the most advanced visual technologies, including projection mapping and sound reinforcement. This unique concept created some challenges - such as integrating the live music and DJs performance space with architectural sophistication. Even more, the parametric forms of the walls, the reserved space for projection mapping and the low ceilings made the positioning of speakers complex.

The Solution 
To compose the main PA, distributors Gobos do Brasil used 4 Kobra-KK102 I speakers with 2 Thunder-KMT21P subwoofers driven by a Kommander-KA84 amplifier. At the restaurant/bar area, which demanded a more reserved atmosphere, the choice was 6 Kobra-KK52 units with 2 Thunder-KMT12P subs driven by a Kommander-KA24. The Standard Dining Clubrequired a creative system. 8 Tornado-KTL2 speakers were specified. Completing the bass, 2 Rumble-KU44 were installed, powered by the Kommander-KA14. Thanks to this composition it was possible to preserve the architects and designers' vision and provide a state-of-the-art sound experience to the venue. Instead of trying to hide the speakers, we did the opposite; positioning the slim and powerful Kobra systems on the walls inside the context of the projection mapping concealed by content. 

The Happy Customer
“K-array is the only brand in the world to have products that are virtually invisible and extremely powerful with high quality at the same time. We were able to take this concept at its maximum, integrating the sound to the beautiful creations for the video mapping.”

Otto Felix - Head Architect