Winner: Restaurant and bar interior of the year 2023. Interiors Project of the Year 2023. ODAmx and Ruben Valdez Practice has created the restaurant concept of Xokol in Guadalajara, Mexico.

"Located in the neighbourhood of Santa Tere in Guadalajara, Xokol is a restaurant in which the act of eating becomes a collective ritual," said Ruben Valdez Practice.

The architecture of the space acts as a catalyst for the reinterpretation of the Mexican Mazahua people's culinary traditions.

Xokol is a communal dining experience in which the boundaries between diners, staff and food preparation are non-existent.

Judges comments: "Xocol understands the place where it lives and the importance of designing in a specific way for a specific location. The result of this understanding is deep and poetic.

"The restaurant uses an unconventional and beautiful combination of Mexican and European design references to create a cross-cultural dining space that is not gregarious – it is elegant and respectful. We want to see more of this."

"Xocol makes you understand the place where it lives – the importance of the local and designing in a specific way for a specific location. The result of this understanding is deep and poetic.

"The restaurant uses an unconventional and beautiful combination of Mexican and European design references. This cross-cultural dining space is not gregarious, it is elegant and respectful – we want to see more of this."

Studios: ODAmx and Ruben Valdez Practice
Project: Xokol