Rome has a new table worth planning a trip around. Chef Akira Back, the Korean-American chef behind a global string of restaurants, has opened his first Italian outpost inside The St. Regis Rome, one of the city's grandest luxury hotels. The interiors come from design studio House of Black, which has turned the historic rooms into a sequence of connected dining spaces built around the idea of portals — thresholds that carry you from one atmosphere to the next.
The concept splits the restaurant into distinct chapters. Dining Room 02 sets the tone with rich furniture tones, timber floors and three glass portals linking it to neighbouring rooms. Dining Room 03 goes dramatic with deep reds and burgundies, plus a bronze mesh arch across the ceiling that softens the light. A glowing doorway then leads to Dining Room 04, dressed in inky blue. Tucked away beyond a hidden corridor sits a Private Dining Room in deep green and gold, inspired by a painting found during the studio's first site visit.
The most personal touch comes from the chef's own family. Artwork by Young Hee Back, Akira Back's mother, appears throughout the restaurant — her expressive pieces printed onto fabric and wallcoverings, and even driving the colour choices in each room. It gives a global brand something unusually intimate.
Materials do a lot of the storytelling. Textured glass in jewel tones nods to Rome's cathedral windows, while woven metals, velvets, leathers, stone and antique bronze add depth. The studio preserved the building's original cornicing and marble detailing, and worked with Artin Lighting on a scheme that shifts theatrically from room to room. Curved banquettes and padded armchairs are designed, quite literally, to embrace the diner.
For travellers, this is a two-in-one draw: a serious chef's debut in a city he hadn't touched before, set within a hotel that has long defined Roman luxury. If you're already booking a Rome trip, it slots neatly into a evening in the city centre near Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando — and the private dining room makes a strong case for a special-occasion booking. Keep an eye on opening reservations; first-of-their-kind restaurants in hotels like this tend to fill fast.
