Designed for a young chef, this restaurant occupies an existing one-story structure that stands out among its commercial neighbors for its pyramidal green-patinated roof. To accommodate the new restaurant’s needs, the spaces of the previous one, an Italian restaurant with a Juliet balcony remnant inside, had to be entirely reorganized.
The redesign included moving the entrance from its former central location on axis with the tall roof to one of the lower flanking volumes, where a glazed entry with a lighted glass canopy communicates the newness awaiting within. The new sign above hides the former view of mechanical equipment. Once inside, the guest sees two distinct destination options: the curvilinear bar straight ahead or the expansive dining room with a curving wood trellis to the left. The bar location was moved from the left side of the building to the right to be adjacent to the entry. The back-of-house facilities have been re-planned and fully rebuilt as well, with the kitchen and dishwashing on the main floor and walk-in storage and prep areas in the basement.
The dining room is given a strong identity by a walnut trellis that originates as a vertical screen, rises up into the room’s pyramidal volume, then continues into a lower-ceilinged area (previous bar location), effectively pulling it into the main space. Warm porcelain “handkerchief” light fixtures suspended in the tall volume establish a more intimate scale for diners there.
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