When Tosh Berman, co-founder of the hospitality group EveryDay Life, returned to Los Angeles after living in Mexico for nearly six years, he discovered a stark gap in the Mexican food market. To fill it, and re-educate the public on the cuisine, he founded LA restaurant Toca Madera, which translates to “knock on wood” in Spanish. “True Mexican food is incredibly healthy, simple, and fresh,” says Berman. “In the U.S. there’s been a mass misconception of the essence of Mexican food. I wanted to reinvent that concept here.”
Berman contacted Davis Krumins of Costa Mesa, California-based Davis Ink to create a customized space for his brainchild. “Tosh approached us to essentially reinvent the definition of the Mexican food experience and wanted a complementary environment that reflected this high-end concept,” says Krumins.
The restaurant’s location was a key component in terms of traffic, accessibility, and placement in the community. “We wanted a space that we’d be able to turn into something interesting, high-end, and creative that was exciting not only for your average customer but also for the neighborhood,” says Berman.
Berman envisioned a modern and organic space featuring a color palette of brown and flame-inspired yellow and gold. Raw, earthy elements, such as custom reclaimed ceiling planks, decorative wood tiles, and walnut wood fixtures, were chosen to highlight the aesthetic. “We had a mix of contrasting materials, including aged metal, concrete tile, quartz stone, rope, lush upholstery, and tooled leather,” says Krumins. “The end result is an intimate living room experience.”
The team took advantage of the space’s existing bar footprint and opened it up as much as possible to create a 4,500-square-foot, 120-seat restaurant and lounge with a retractable roof, interior patio, and open-air dining environment. Though the original layout included two rooms, the center wall was ripped out to create one interactive space—one side a lounge experience and the other for dining.
A 100-square-foot linear crystal quartz bar serves as the centerpiece. “The energy was incredibly important, so we went with a solid stone crystal quartz bar to consciously and subconsciously evoke uplifting energy,” says Berman.
Similar materials were used throughout to unify the overall environment. Barstools with Roosevelt tufted seats stitched in light purple are mirrored in the purple upholstered tufted lounge booths. “We wanted to maintain continuity throughout the design,” says Berman.
Arabesque light fixtures outfitted with Edison bulbs emit an amber glow and create a moody atmosphere, while a grid of skull sculptures recessed into individually lit, raw steel and wooden boxes was inspired by the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos and installed along the back wall of the dining room.
The outdoor garden connects to the dining room via a live-edge wood sculptural tunnel and features retractable skylights and green plant elements, such as draping succulents hung in Mondrian configured planters, to enclose the space. “We took advantage of a pre-existing high ceiling space and transformed it into an intimate indoor patio experience,” says Krumins.
“We didn’t want to follow suit as another Mexican restaurant with traditional décor,” Berman adds. “You have to keep your head on a swivel and be able to move in another direction quickly to make sure you don’t sacrifice the design and stay true to the theme and integrity of the product.”
