A must-visit cinematic Japanese drinks & dining experience in the new Kensington Olympia Roof Terrace
Run For The Hills has unveiled Wolves of Tokyo, a bold new Japanese restaurant, private dining destination and rooftop cocktail bar at Olympia. Blending cinematic storytelling with immersive interior design, branding and bespoke craftsmanship, the project creates a richly layered hospitality experience where every detail contributes to a carefully constructed narrative.
The Brief + Space
The naming, branding and interior design of an achingly stylish Japanese restaurant and bar, offering authentic and traditional flavours of Japan. Picture fresh sushi and sashimi beautifully presented in cutting edge interiors, open from lunch onwards throughout the week as a highly sought-after new dining destination above the rooftops of Olympia. Inventive cocktails taking inspiration from Japanese culture and ingredients, premium Japanese whiskey, gin and sakes. The brief: create two distinct destinations, connected by a single design narrative.
At the sky garden’s ground level, is the main Wolves of Tokyo buzzing restaurant with semi-private dining, expansive cocktail bar and generous sushi counter as well as a much larger, standalone Private Dining ‘apartment’ – London’s coolest new F&B hire space. The site had a super amazing ceiling height for the designers to play with – plus an entire roof terrace floor plate above, exactly the same footprint again. Set to become one of London’s largest rooftop cocktail experiences, sitting beneath an iconic Heatherwick bronze canopy. A captivating oasis inspired by the dynamic energy, vibrant culture, and excitement of Japan.
Perched overlooking Olympia, this elevated space promises an immersive experience, seamlessly blending Japanese aesthetics, mixology, and an atmosphere of celebration. Designed by Run For The Hills to pulse in ambiance shifts from a relaxed afternoon retreat to a pulsating evening hotspot, with live DJ performances curated to capture the essence of Tokyo’s diverse music scene, transforming the rooftop into a dynamic social hub as the sun sets. Downstairs in Wolves, the scheme notches down by night: with portable table lamps creating candlelight at every table, with chic glows of light underneath booths and banquettes, lending an almost electro-cinematic, filmic feel.
RFTH Design Concept: Japan Noir
A rich tapestry of history meets technology and night life street culture. Cool, super trendy and tapping into Japan’s aching coolness. Stripped back raw, the buzz of bright lights big city. Neon art, fused with a modern twist on centuries-old artistic craft principles.
The Brand
After aligning on a general direction with the client through cinematic moodboards, moody blues and rich reds, the neon underbelly of Tokyo, a world of Japan-noir, we embarked on a naming exercise. Diving deep into Japanese culture, idioms and the country’s golden age of cinema, the RFTH branding team eventually landed on Wolves Of Tokyo. Dangerous and alluring in equal measure, it had exactly the right cinematic weight to it.
The brand evolved with a modern, handcrafted logotype with a subtle nod to a torii gate hidden in the letterforms. The designers juxtaposed its contemporary edge with fluid, handwritten Japanese lettering and a suite of traditional illustrations, sushi, koi carp, lotus flowers, rendered with an artisan roughness that feels hand-pressed rather than digital. Then came Lady Zee: a character the team created whose private apartment doubles as the restaurant’s main PDR, announced to guests by a softly glowing illustrated lightbox. The palette is bold and uncompromising, lacquer red and midnight blue as the lead colours, anchored by off-white cream and deep charcoal black.
The designers also created a sub-brand for Above Wolves, the rooftop bar sitting above the restaurant, giving it its own identity while keeping it firmly within the world we’d built.
The visual language draws from cinematic noir – shadowy, atmospheric imagery that feels like stills from a 1960s thriller. Window blind shadows became a key graphic motif, casting dramatic patterns and depth. We used this across social media for the pre-launch, building anticipation, and then brought it into the venue on custom lightboxes and as framed art pieces throughout the space.
Chris Trotman, Founding Creative Director, Run for the Hills:
“Diving deep into Japanese culture, idioms and the country’s golden age of cinema, we eventually landed on Wolves of Tokyo – a bit dangerous and alluring in equal measure, with exactly the right cinematic weight. From there everything followed: the torii gate hidden in the logotype, Lady Zee as a character rather than just a room, the lacquer red against midnight blue. A brand that knows exactly what it is.”
The Interiors
Step inside a film-set worthy Tokyo Life Smorgasbord of bright lights, cool city vibes. Super cool dining, karaoke craziness. A full throttle space transitioning with lighting through day & night – truly unforgettable.
Mirroring the cinematic weight of the brand, the Run for the Hills interiors team developed an equally intoxicating schematic – taking the project from concept and spatial exploration through look and feel, schematic development and full tech design, designing a huge collection of bespoke pieces from bar joinery and wait stations to unique RFTH lighting designs, FF&E, custom finishes and upholstery.
The interior is layered with bespoke Japanese tasselled lanterns and a hero gantry light installation crafted from rich paper, casting ambient pools of light through the space. Japanese dovetail wooden structured booths anchor the dining areas, complemented by a wooden Japanese style gantry and tasselled fabric gantry framing the room with sculptural detail. Deep indigo blue booth seating sits on chrome legs, whilst blue lacquered reflective tables catch and play with the light, shifting from mercurial magic by night to casual cool by day. A branded coir entrance mat welcomes guests into the space, whilst a semi-PDR features a striking mesh chainmail entrance that separates it from the main restaurant.
Clever fitted seating and custom booth formations maximise covers along the long, narrow ground floor whilst preserving open flow for diners and staff alike. The FF&E is a filmic smorgasbord: with 1970s-inspired chrome serpent chairs upholstered in rich dark velvets, smoked glass tables on chrome tulip bases, conical stainless legs, custom banquettes detailed with ruching, creased leather, metallic braid trims and silk brush fringe – every piece a work of designer art.
The bar and sushi counter are the beating heart of Wolves – washed in colour-change light, waterfall violet marble and gleaming steel. A celebration of raw finishes meeting traditional Japanese craft principles. The semi-open sushi kitchen forms a theatre in itself, with chefs at work becoming part of the experience. Above the counter, a timber-jointed gantry shelving with knotted detail glows softly down onto beautifully plated sushi, whilst an angular stainless back bar sparkles with integrated light over reeded antique mirrored tiles. Throughout the main bar, sushi counter and PDR joinery, a colour-change lighting system morphs the mood from warm golden daylight through to electric blues, reds and hot neon pinks – completely transforming the atmosphere from day into night.
Lady Zee’s apartment sits on the ground floor in its own dedicated space – fashioned for group meetings, private hire, dinner celebrations and feel-good parties. An achingly cool setting, with a double-height gleaming stainless steel service bar, neon-hot colour change wine display and a state-of-the-art audio-visual system, transforming from sun-dappled daytime meetings and lunches into intimate dining as the sun sets. With hidden karaoke beckoning the night away.
Anna Burles, Founding Creative Director, Run for the Hills:
“Wolves is a film-set kind of place — every one of our booths, every banquette and joinery detail coming from a place of design love, every choice of fabric, material or trim a considered, curated design moment. Immersive design is what we love, taking people on a journey from the moment they enter, playing with light and shade, for metamorphosis during day-to-night transitions.”
Light Play, Art & Styling
Light and texture does much of the storytelling throughout the space. Custom designed lightboxes act like cinematic stills, glowing in deep reds and bruised blues, while others cast the warmer, more intimate flicker of candlelight. A Run For The Hills designed Tokyo street scene plays out as a triptych black decal across framed mirrors. A larger mirror piece with coloured acrylic blocks brings a contemporary edge.
The design team’s art is displayed in a variety of ways: framed and hung on walls, propped on shelves, and suspended in unusual forms. Japanese twigs clustered in unusual vessels, curated and layered ceramics, vintage and new Japanese objects – arranged across gantry shelving and dining surfaces, creating moments of cultural discovery and narrative depth throughout the space. Vintage wood blocks, koi carp vases, and handcrafted brushes sit alongside modern pieces, each telling a story of tradition meeting contemporary cool.
Curated style books occupy prime real estate on wait station counters and PDR shelves – thoughtfully selected titles covering Japanese food, architecture, design and lifestyle. Beyond functioning as décor, many feature striking imagery that the team repurposed as art, with photographs and illustrations extending the narrative across walls, mirrors and light boxes throughout the space. All becoming part of the storytelling, blurring the line between decoration and curated experience.