Hospitality Style

I like the fact that both hotel restaurant design and concepts for freestanding restaurants continue to the blur the line between what's hot and what's haute. The latest example is San Francisco's Barbacco Eno Trattoria.

Its co-owners, Umberto Gibin and executive chef Staggan Terje, initially saw the new venture as a complementary offer to their award-winning Perbacco Ristorante + Bar just two doors away. Given the Financial District setting, the idea was that Perbacco would draw the CEOs and dealmakers while its new little sister projected the right attitude to attract mid-level managers and mid-spend foodies. But as The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle's online SFgate.com and other reviewers have reported, Barbacco's combination of Terje's creative Northern Italian food and CCS Architecture's edgy style have made this 66-seat eatery a popular choice for power brokers as well as their staffs.

Cass Calder Smith and his design team created a look that would fit Barbacco into Gibin and Terje's expanding brand family without just knocking off their flagship--also designed by CCS. The Italian accent was obvious, given the menu. What wasn't is the choice of the sexy side of Italian culture as inspiration--particularly, the yellow of the Ferrari emblem, lots of chrome, mirrors and elements angled as if they're ready to put pedal to the metal. Smith's not afraid to use marble alongside high density fiberboard, or polished chrome with rustic brick.






 

Communal tables create a highly social atmosphere near the frameless glass front.



Photos that suggest a glimpse of what's seen from a speeding car or Vespa are interspersed with mirrors and open cabinets. Like clients who wear Givenchy with Gap, Barbacco represents a new kind of hospitality design trend that makes creativity the real test of luxury.


Photos: Eric Rorer, San Francisco