The New York restaurant scene last year offered record-breaking numbers of multimillion-dollar eateries from superstar chefs including Joël Robuchon, Masaharu Morimoto, and Gordon Ramsay. Meanwhile, classics such as Le Cirque and the Russian Tea Room reopened with great fanfare. The gastro-high continues into 2007, but with moderation. Tables to come include Alain Ducasse at the St. Regis, Park Chinois at the Gramercy Hotel, and Morandi, Keith McNally’s first foray into Italian cuisine. Sound familiar? Some were slated to open last year. This is the problem with previews: Openings are notoriously delayed.

Architects and designers arguably have the best view of the upcoming restaurants they are building. As restaurants increasingly play the roll of entertainment, interior design becomes as important as food. Here, four design groups talk about their upcoming projects and the design of things to come in New York City. They also answer a crucial question: Are restaurants too dark and noisy?

PARK AVENUE CAFÉ
(100 E. 63rd St., between Park and Lexington avenues, 212-644-1900; redesign completed this summer).

Designed by: AvroKO, Adam Farmerie, principal

Concept:”To restore every vestige back to the grand time of restaurants.”

Challenges: Transforming a working restaurant without closing. “We’re going to have to build a restaurant off-site and just show up with it. It’s almost like working with a landmark.”

Will it be dark and noisy? “I don’t know,” Mr. Farmerie said with a laugh. “We design dark and noisy restaurants. That what we do.”

LANDMARC
(Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle; opening this spring).

Designed by: Clodagh Design; Clodagh, owner and chief executive.

Concept: “Create nostalgia in people so they will come back again and again” and “easy living in the Time Warner building.” Challenges: To slice up the 10,500-square-foot space into different experiences. There will be distinct dining areas, including the Park Room, bar, banquettes, and a communal table in the bar. “It’s narrow enough to reach across and hold hands, which was the idea.”

Will it be dark and noisy?”I’ve spent too much time in my life shouting intimacies across a deuce,” Clodagh said. She will include acoustic material in the ceiling, and upholstered panels with many small speakers instead of a few large ones. Evenly distributed light fixtures mean the light patterns will be consistent.

Trends for 2007: Open kitchens, communal tables, a “laid-back point of view,” and Wabi-Sabi — the Japanese aesthetic that celebrates natural aging.

DANIEL BOULUD’S BAR À VIN
(official name TBD; 1900 Broadway, between 63rd and 64th streets; opening late-spring).

Designed by: Thomas Schlesser Design Bureaux

Concept: Conceptual inspirations include a bistro/brasserie mood, wine caves and vineyards, the Burgundy region of France, and historical wine tools.

Challenges: Working with a long, narrow space.

Custom elements: A large C-shaped table seats 20 people facing inward, with a wine table for service in the middle inspired by antique wine tasting tables. The communal bar table will have a service section of wine coolers and drawers alongside diners. “It makes the service more integrated, with people working at the same level,” Mr. Schlesser said.

Will it be dark and noisy? “It depends on if you’re using a restaurant as a club or a restaurant, but they all need to work together.” Wall coverings of white oak panels and metal mesh filled with gravel are layered on top of acoustic materials so sound will pass through crevices.

Trends for 2007: “Spaces not as austere; they’ll be warmer, friendlier.”

BLT MARKET
(Ritz Carlton, 50 Central Park South at Sixth Avenue; opening this spring).

Designed by: Michael Bagley Designs

Concept: “French brasserie and American country store” and “to create a restaurant that is an experience, not an event.” Challenges: “We felt very strongly that the walls need to open out on to Central Park and Sixth Avenue to have the energy of the location,” Mr. Bagley said. Replacing walls with working windows required a complete renovation of the hotel’s air circulation system. And because the restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, colors need to be appealing any time of day.

Custom elements: “To make the space feel authentic … rather than look for antiques we’ve designed furniture of reclaimed wood and millwork of antique and reclaimed materials.”

Trends for 2007: “A decrease in the over-the-top budget signature restaurant that’s all about the name” and “a toning down and making things more accessible, an overall attitude of inclusion of people. … I don’t think John Q. America is so easily impressed, and they don’t need to be anymore.”

Will it be dark and noisy? “You need to have a certain level of noise, the buzz that’s interesting. You should hear conversation, but not words being spoken.”

SUSHI RESTAURANT
(name TBD, 1695 Broadway at 53rd Street; opening this spring).

Designed by: AvroKO, Adam Farmerie, principal

Concept: A modern sushi restaurant.

Challenges: Getting the most out of 1,000 square feet. The central square bar will seat 24 and function as both beverage and sushi bar. Thirty additional seats line the perimeter in banquettes. Wooden panels in the walls have small flaps that open, creating “windows” in the windowless space. Trends for 2007: “I’d like to see smaller restaurants and not see any more cheeky references to history,” Mr. Farmerie said. “Restaurants are getting bigger, more formalized service and not in a good way. It’s become impersonal.”