With its contemporary Mesopotamian theme and tremendous capacity of 1,100 seats, Seafood Baghdad is both a sophisticated culinary destination and popular meeting place that caters to a wide range of tastes. With its stunning and unique design incorporating eight mammoth aquarium tanks for both tropical and deep-sea fish, this celebrated restaurant is located in the heart of the Dijlah Village Complex overlooking the impressive scene of the eponymous river.

Three key elements of the beautiful local landscape—the sand, sky, and water—served to anchor the design concept for this ambitious restaurant project. In keeping with the marine theme of Seafood Baghdad, Quark’s team incorporated this latter element in two strikingly different ways. First, floor-to-ceiling aquarium tanks containing 40 metric tons of saltwater habitat for myriad kinds of fish, mollusks, and crustaceans serve as walls within the restaurant’s interior. Second, Quark created an underground stream visible through walkways of tempered glass flooring—an innovative contrast with standing water in aquarium tanks and an homage to the Dijlah River just outside.

Perhaps the most defining elements of the restaurant, aside from its famed aquariums and underground waterways, are intricate wooden dividers carved with traditional Middle Eastern designs that create spaces of privacy, quiet and comfort for guests even on the bustling dining floor. Custom-designed furniture and decor for this project were carefully selected by Quark Studio to create a pleasant and cozy environment balanced between contemporary designs and traditional Middle Eastern elements.

The remarkable local ecology surrounding Seafood Baghdad is reflected in its many natural stone design elements and a variety of building materials, including leather, marble, wood, textile, mirrors, and mosaic. The reflective black glass inside a modular wooden ceiling and an extensive airy patio maximize the sense of space, freedom, and interconnection with the natural world throughout the dining experience.