Thatu Restaurant

Thatu, meaning "Three" in Zulu, is the name the trio of the young entrepreneurs/restauranteur chose for their new restaurant in Illovo, Johannesburg.

The design of the space is an African exploration of textures, colors, shapes, and concepts. The process of transformation inspires the sculptures as similar to the process of making food. The wood was charred using an ancient Japanese technique called Su sugi Ban, also known as Yakisugi. The wood is burned to gain a silky black texture and assembled in two monumental art pieces: " The Vortex " and the "Rolling Hills." The Vortex above the Bar is a sculptural exploration of texture, light, and movement, while the Rolling hills are the transposition of a shape to memory. In this instance, the client expressed the memory of the Rolling Hills of the Eastern Cape.