A defining principle in the design of Unapologetic Foods’ restaurants is the concept of jugaad—a spirited, resourceful approach to repurposing everyday materials and objects in inventive ways. This ethos, paired with a deep reverence for India’s vibrant street food culture, inspires a spatial blurring between indoor and outdoor environments.

At Adda, reclaimed tin pails are transformed into pendant lights above a zinc-topped bar, while the back bar features sharply angled, rusted COR-TEN steel columns housing wood shelves for bottles and glassware. These bold, rusted forms are set against a backdrop of antique mirrored glass, adding layered depth and reflection.

Across from the bar, dining booths sit atop low platforms, partially enclosed by arched cane screens within slender steel frames. Above, rusted hanging planters evoke an overgrown street-side canopy.

Emerging from the bar area, a dining zone evokes the feeling of an urban outdoor setting: a long, tufted leather sofa anchors linear seating against a wall plastered with Indian newspaper and magazine pages, graffitied with Hindi phrases. This collage continues overhead onto the ceiling, where a cluster of rattan pendant lights enhances the layered, immersive effect.

An open kitchen anchors the center of the space, with a zinc-wrapped pass-through framed in an organic, curving form that draws the eye to the activity within. Opposite the kitchen, a trio of large dining booths sit beneath a vaulted ceiling clad in oak slats layered over grasscloth and punctuated by blackened steel strapping. This vaulted zone creates a more intimate, cocooned atmosphere within the broader dining area.

The perimeter of this space is defined by a long, rusting corrugated metal wall, reinforcing the raw, industrial material palette and street-side sensibility that defines Adda’s unique character.

Past the vaulted space, at the very back of the restaurant, is a romantic private dining room. Here, a geometrically patterned walnut wood screen—subtly backlit—frames the space, while tall-backed banquettes upholstered in an elegant textile provide comfort and enclosure. The wood floor is stenciled with a traditional Indian motif, and the ceiling is finished in a dark, moody wallcovering, accented by decorative golden pendant lights that add a warm, ambient glow.