Kingfisher: Illuminating a Vietnamese-French Fusion Bar
In a vibrant corner of Golden Hill, San Diego, a tiny Vietnamese-French cocktail bar and eatery called Kingfisher stands out for its culinary delights - and mesmerizing illumination. The lighting, conceived by the talented minds at NEAL in collaboration with OCIO Design Group, showcases how light can transform a space. Led by Garrett Neal, the lighting design makes the restaurant feel more spacious, complements the space’s rich color palette, and draws attention to the intricate metalwork of the central bar.
Crafting a Central Piece
The heart of Kingfisher is undeniably its grand, custom-designed bar, described by Garrett Neal as “the star of the show.” A floating bloom-shaped sculpture, crafted by a local metal artisan, anchors the space, while lush tropical motifs create an ambiance that transports patrons to another world.
Garrett elaborated on the metal structure. “The idea was to try to do something interesting and cool to create some curb appeal. There are some large windows that face the street, so lighting something beautiful that you could see through the glass at night was important.”
The metal art piece also acts as a canopy over the countertop, with recessed flexible Q-CAP KURV fixtures highlighting the form, adding ambient light, and echoing the curved shape of the bar. Because of the hanging metalwork, Garrett was able to incorporate multiple layers of lighting into the bar area, with two levels of fixtures embedded into the structure itself and additional illumination in the bottle storage display, under the counter, and in the toe kick area.
The use of QTL’s flexible LED fixture products was particularly important, as it allowed the lighting to adapt to the bar’s intricate design, while ensuring consistent and visually appealing illumination.
“I chose QTL because their flexible technology is ahead of everybody else's,” Garrett shared.
The design for the bar structure also allowed Garrett to discretely power the fixtures. Low-voltage wire runs through the supports anchoring the metal piece into the ceiling, and remote QZ drivers power the lights, ensuring a clean and unobtrusive installation.
"The whole thing was custom," Neal stated, highlighting the bespoke nature of the project.
Enhancing the Ambiance
Neal highlighted the significance of lighting in small spaces, noting how it can dramatically change the perception and atmosphere of a venue.
"It's important to note how much lighting can change and impact such a small space," he said. Strip lighting behind the mirrors was used to pick up the wallpaper and get a floating effect that elongated the small room. LEDs graze up the wall behind the leather bench seating along the perimeter of the room, adding texture.”
2700K color temperature LEDs were chosen for all fixtures in the space to create an inviting feel. "QTL products dim nice and low because of their quality drivers," Neal explained, highlighting the importance of low-level dimming in achieving an intimate ambiance.
“Once we finalized the bar, it was a simple project, honestly. It’s a wonderful little project.”
