Grill & Dough

GRILL AND DOUGH

RIBA Stages 0-7

Unit3 Design Studio were appointed to design Grill & Dough, a new modern takeaway café located on Vauxhall Road in Liverpool, within the city’s emerging Pumpfields development zone.

The project involved the transformation of an existing commercial unit into a stylish, fast and convenient food outlet designed to serve residents, workers, students and visitors in this growing part of Liverpool. Positioned within an area undergoing significant change, the scheme provides a fresh and contemporary hospitality offer that responds to the increasing demand for high-quality, accessible food and drink uses within the Pumpfields and wider Vauxhall area.

The concept for Grill & Dough was to create a modern takeaway café that feels efficient, welcoming and visually distinctive. The design needed to support quick customer movement, clear ordering and collection points, and a strong street presence, while still offering a small amount of internal seating for customers who wish to eat in. Unit3’s approach focused on combining the practical requirements of a takeaway operation with a refined interior identity that feels more considered than a typical fast-food unit.

The interior design uses a bold but controlled palette of dark tones, textured wall finishes, warm lighting, orange accents and feature counter detailing. This creates a strong visual identity for the Grill & Dough brand, helping the business stand out within the surrounding commercial frontage. The use of contemporary materials and carefully placed lighting gives the space an urban, modern character suited to its Liverpool city centre fringe location.

A key part of the design strategy was to organise the customer journey clearly. Separate order and collection areas help improve efficiency at busy periods, while digital menu displays provide a clean and modern wayfinding point for customers. The counter, kitchen interface and seating areas have been carefully planned to support the fast-paced nature of the business, allowing the unit to operate as a quick-service takeaway while still feeling comfortable and inviting.

Externally, the proposals introduce a stronger commercial frontage onto Vauxhall Road, with a simple, confident shopfront design and clear signage. The design helps animate the street edge and contribute positively to the wider regeneration of the Pumpfields area. The addition of outdoor seating, planting and awnings creates a more active frontage, improving the customer experience and helping the unit feel connected to the public realm.

The project forms part of the wider evolution of Vauxhall and Pumpfields, an area of Liverpool that is increasingly becoming a mixed-use neighbourhood with new residential development, commercial activity and improved public-facing uses. Grill & Dough has been designed to sit comfortably within this changing urban context, offering a contemporary food and drink destination that supports the area’s growing community.

For Unit3 Design Studio, the scheme demonstrates our experience in hospitality design, commercial refurbishment, takeaway café design and the creative reuse of existing retail units. The project shows how a relatively compact commercial space can be transformed through careful planning, brand-led interiors and a strong architectural response to the street.

Grill & Dough is a modern, stylish and convenient takeaway café designed for a changing Liverpool neighbourhood. The completed concept combines speed, practicality and visual impact, creating a distinctive new food destination on Vauxhall Road.

Work in progress

Unit3 are an award winning multi-disciplinary design studio based in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. We work across three design sectors (architecture, graphic design and creative media) and help clients across the UK and internationally achieve great designs.

If you have a project in mind and would like to meet us, get in touch!