A relaxed, riverside dining experience.

Strategy | Brand | Interior Design

The Boathouse Cafe sits within The Boathouse - a new building in Guildford, on the bank of the river Wey. The cafe-restaurant overlooks the water, and offers seasonal breakfast, lunch and dinner menus in an idyllic setting.

Raw Clay were tasked with creating a brand identity and interior scheme that would reference the heritage of the site, which has been home to a boat hire business since the Victorian era.

We were responsible for the identity, packaging, and interior design.

“We came to Raw Clay with a feeling we wanted to create. We described our dream to them, and they somehow made it a tangible reality that could be felt by others.”

Jessica Meins, The Boathouse

A palette of natural materials including stone, wood, linen, and clay is used repeatedly throughout the space, chosen to reflect the materials found in and around the river. On the largest wall, layers of clay render create a relief design, traced from a map of the river Wey. A huge floral installation hanging overhead feels like rushes and plantlife lifted directly from the riverbed.

Our sustainable approach to design continues into print. The menus are printed on paper stock made from recycled beer pulp, and are layered into reusable, linen-wrapped hardback covers. A hand-illustrated children’s menu engages little ones in the story of the river.

To create consistency across the brand, we designed digital assets that would complement the physical print. We created template designs and concepts for social media content as well as designing visuals for their digital app.

All takeaway packaging for the Boathouse Cafe has been sustainably produced, and can be recycled or home composted once it's been used. Paper food boxes are coated with seaweed instead of plastic, and reusable coffee cups are made from old takeaway cups.