Carmen & Don Diablo
Two distinct restaurants, one shared approach to craftsmanship — translated into custom made menu holders made for everyday service.
Carmen and Don Diablo are sister restaurants with distinct personalities but a shared focus on Colombian ingredients and craftsmanship. Carmen offers a more refined, author-driven approach built around premium local and seasonal ingredients, while Don Diablo reinterprets the steakhouse through Colombian grass-fed beef and a bolder, more grounded character.
LOCATION:YEAR:MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA2021RESTAURANTSVENUE TYPE:AREAS OF WORK:SPACECUSTOM MENU HOLDERS DESIGNTwo distinct restaurants, one shared respect for Colombian craft.
/ CONTEXT
Carmen and Don Diablo express the same philosophy in different ways: celebrating Colombian ingredients, traditions and craftsmanship through a contemporary point of view. Carmen feels warmer and more experimental, while Don Diablo is more grounded and confident.
A permanent object for an ever-changing menu.
/ OPPORTUNITY
Because both restaurants work with seasonal ingredients, their menus change often. They needed a lasting object that could make a simple, replaceable printed menu feel more special at the table while still being practical for daily service.
One shared point of view, interpreted two ways.
/ OUR APPROACH
We created a family of locally made menu holders using Colombian leather, metal and handcrafted details. The shared materials connected the two restaurants, while each design was adapted to reflect its own personality.
Experimental, tactile and unexpected.
/ VISUAL WORLD / CARMEN
For Carmen, we leaned into texture and variation. soft leather, rusted metal and less conventional finishes gave the pieces a warmer, more expressive character that matched the restaurant’s playful and experimental point of view.
Polished, structured and refined.
/ VISUAL WORLD / DON DIABLO
For Don Diablo, we used the same soft Colombian leather in a more formal expression, wrapping the menu pieces fully in black leather and finishing them with gold-foil branding and subtle metal details. The result feels clean, substantial and elevated — a natural fit for the restaurant’s confident steakhouse character.
THE BEAUTY OF THE PROCESS
A permanent piece built around a changing menu.
/ OUTCOME
The final menu holders gave both restaurants a lasting, elevated object that could adapt easily as seasonal menus changed. The inserts are simple for the team to update, while the leather construction and custom details give guests something more tactile, polished and memorable at the table.