Italian food is unlike any other, and when it’s shared with others, it is savored even more. The cuisine is so special that UNESCO designated it as an intangible cultural heritage, recognizing not only the cuisine but also the conviviality of the country’s cherished rituals, from family meals to age-old traditions still practiced today.
Füm, a new contemporary Italian restaurant in Atlanta, named after the Italo-Gaelic word for smoke, celebrates this same spirit. Designed by Arcturis | Square Feet Studio, Grassfed Culture Hospitality, and HAND Studio, a bustling piazza served as inspiration for the eatery. “There’s an expansive open space and the activity happens around it,” says Rachel Uhelski, interior designer and project manager at Square Feet Studio. “All of these different moments create a beautiful community.”
The layout is reminiscent of an open market, which encourages guests to circulate throughout the restaurant and gaze at the culinary delights on the menu. There’s a pasta maker’s room, wine station, and a chamber for dry-aged meat. One addition is not typically found in a town square—a DJ booth. All types of music are on rotation to keep the atmosphere in the 150-seat dining room lively. A wood-fired open hearth sits at the center of it all, paired with a show kitchen where executive chef Sebastián Vargas prepares signature dishes like cavatelli and trout.
Sculptural plaster forms a curved soffit overhead and wraps columns, creating softer lines in the space. A hand-finished limewash brings subtle texture to walls and complements the millwork. Blackened metal, forged by a local workshop, pays homage to craft. Coupled with brass accents, an interplay of light and dark elements offers just enough sheen.
A cocktail bar doubles as a glamorous statement piece. Its polished Ceppo Rosso marble top with embedded pebble fragments is reminiscent of Italy’s famous mosaics. The color palette takes its cues from farm-to-table tints. Paprika-toned ceiling insets are illuminated by cove lighting. The same rich red hue reappears across the wall behind the kitchen, and on banquette and bar stool upholstery. A coffee bar boasts shelving and tiles in a luxe pistachio green shade that enhances walnut wood furnishings.
At Füm, different facets meld as easily as the flavors do to highlight every detail and transform a simple meal into a memorable occasion. “The restaurant was designed to be engaging,” Uhelski notes. “And as you move through it, you experience each of the senses in one place.”
Photography by Andrew Thomas Lee.
