Tora | Oriental Restaurant

Black walls, amber light

Tora is an Asian fusion restaurant on the Tigné Seafront in Sliema, with a dark, sculptural interior and a terrace that looks across the water to Valletta. I photographed the restaurant interiors as a study in contrast: charcoal brick and ribbed black walls, mustard leather chairs and banquettes, and silk pendant lights glowing amber overhead.

The dark surfaces stay dark, and the warm details are left to glow: a gilded relief on the wall, a white tiger that nods to the restaurant’s name, the lit bottle shelves behind the bar, the small lamps down each table. Wide frames show the room as a whole, from the bar to the long timber tables to the Valletta skyline, while closer ones pick out the table settings and the textures of brick, leather and wood.