How Mirador’s Sweeping and ‘Re-Energizing’ Renovation Came Together
Forty Five Ten's Crown Culinary Jewel Makes a Smashing Reappearance
BY Rebecca Sherman // 01.02.24An 11-foot olive anchors the travertine foyar in Forty Five Ten's revamped Mirador restaurant. (Courtesy of PS.Swoon)
The lights are back on at Mirador. Forty Five Ten’s stylish penthouse restaurant, which closed in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, has reopened with a ravishing new look and a menu of favorite dishes from executive chef Travis Wyatt.
Mirador’s interiors were refreshed by Dallas design firm Swoon The Studio. Founded by Samantha Sano, this is Swoon’s first interiors project with Headington Co., which owns Forty Five Ten. “I was excited to go on this journey with them,” says Swoon principal Joslyn Taylor. “They had some big ideas for re-energizing the restaurant that included moving the bar into the main dining area, which really transformed how people interact in the space.” A new private dining room was created after a staircase was removed, and when Taylor and Sano saw the beautiful natural light beaming down from a massive skylight above, they placed clusters of potted foliage and an 11-foot-tall olive tree right under it.
The main dining room is awash in hues of burnt sienna, dusty plum, and rose, which cast a flattering, romantic glow — and promise to make Mirador’s well-heeled, fashionable clientele look even prettier.
The restaurant’s elegant refresh took inspiration from the Viennese decorative arts movement Wiener Werkstätte (Viennese Workshops), an early-20th-century collective of artists and craftsmen in Vienna that produced luxurious furnishings and textiles favoring curved lines, foliage, and other references to nature. Taylor and Sano fell in love with Viennese modern design after a trip seven years ago to Neue Galerie New York. “Since then, we’ve been collecting images from that era, and they’ve been on an inspiration board waiting for the right project. This felt like the one.”
References to the Vienna movement are everywhere, from curved, burlwood banquettes upholstered in velvet and mohair to custom bentwood chairs inspired by Viennese Workshop co-founder Josef Hoffmann’s work. Silk wall lanterns designed by Hoffmann were sourced in Vienna. Hand-stitched linen and silk panels, commissioned from Copenhagen artist Freja Løwe, section off areas in the restaurant.
The Vienna movement’s emphasis on “total art” that unifies paintings, architecture, and the decorative arts is an understated mantra, with colors, materials, and shapes all playing supporting roles. Travertine tabletops and the bar are rimmed in chrome, which ties into the ceiling’s existing chrome elements; large-scale art was curated by Runyon Fine Arts and the room’s rosy tint can be found in Rob Pruitt’s 31 small sunset canvases, and Sam Falls’ large-scale Hydrangea and Madder Root paintings. “This Viennese design language made Mirador an elegant jewel box,” Taylor says.
Luxurious Bath & Candles
While the setting is new, Mirador’s menu of modern American cuisine is reassuringly familiar. Look for such favorites as Parmesan tomato soup, orecchiette, chicken Paillard, farro bowl, and chicken bites. Chef Wyatt has also introduced fresh ideas such as beef tartare with house-made harissa and lavash, as well as wild mushrooms, a zero-waste dish that dehydrates fungi trimmings into a powder to season the crispy rice paper garnish. To top it all off, executive pastry director Ruben Toraño has brought back Mirador’s beloved pavlova, the meringue and cream dessert.
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