Osito has debuted in the Mission District of San Francisco as the only 100-percent live fire restaurant in the city. The inaugural restaurant concept from chef Seth Stowaway has opened in tandem with its sister cocktail bar Liliana. Both spaces were realized by locally based architecture firm Studio Terpeluk and designed to reflect local artistry as well as Stowaway’s Texan heritage.
“We were inspired by the personal story, energy, and vision of Seth. The dining room [at Osito] somehow bears his imprint and is a reflection of him as a conscious and spiritual being,” says Studio Terpeluk principal Brett Terpeluk. “The design is intentionally simple and honest with focus on the communal dining experience.”
Osito’s minimalist design concept is characterized by the layering of reclaimed and unfinished wood. Douglas fir pier pilings, sugar pine, and redwood slabs and siding anchor the material palette. Hanging ferns and pines that reference the bounty of the Northern California landscape also infuse the atmosphere with warmth and texture.
“We envisioned a wooden box within a wooden box,” Terpeluk adds. “The inner box contains the dining experience while the space between the boxes acts as a visual filter to the streetscape beyond.” Beyond the large kitchen’s steel and brick hearth, a single handmade communal table serves as the nucleus of the interior, while a bar provides a more informal setting. Custom brass chandeliers cast the organic space in warmth to play off the rational geometry of the dining room, which is also echoed via ceramic tiling in moss and cedar tones.
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