To create the ultimate Spanish tapas bar experience for Nick Ronan’s and Damien Chabaud-Arnault’s new restaurant BESO in San Francisco’s busy Castro District, TECTA took on a challenging and adventurous design and permitting process of transforming a former basement and garage below a typical San Francisco Victorian into an attractive yet compliant space. A variety of finishes pull guests into the space and trigger their appetite.
Located on the street level of a Victorian, framed double glass doors lead into the restaurant and when wide open during summer months create an indoor-out feeling. Layers of finishes such as the stained concrete floor, plaster walls and a faux brick application create an interesting path towards the back to the open kitchen and vibrant red painted niche. In the niche we find more comfortable banquette seating options with overhead mirrors that guarantee that there is no such thing as a bad table. A black wire wine rack adjacent to the banquet seating celebrates the wine collection.
A mixture of bistro tables and counter height seating provide options for everybody’s preferences. A variety of light fixtures with rustic finishes such as the Edison Glass Pendant in gunmetal from Restoration Hardware placed around the marble top kitchen counter, the 1940’s architects boom sconce in antique black above the banquet seating, the constellation of Riveted Mesh pendants from Restoration Hardware above the communal table and the collection of 14 series wall sconces by Omer Arbel for Bocci along the faux brick wall make their surrounding finishes come to life. TECTA’s design tickles in many ways more senses than just taste.
(Photography by Ross Pushinaitis of Exceptional Frames)