In a place where hot new restaurants and bars are, let's be real, a dime a dozen, design-savvy entrepreneurs are looking to art to help distinguish their brands from the pack.
But we aren't talking about nice little painting in frames. Nope, murals, and even graffiti, are making big statements inside the buzziest restaurants of San Francisco and Oakland. From feminine florals to testosterone-driven hunting scenes to playful street art–inspired works, check out 10 local eateries winning at the art game.
At True Laurel, new restaurant from Lazy Bear chef David Barzelay and bar director Nicolas Torres, the fine food and craft cocktails feel all the more more important as you gaze up at the imposing, modernist plaster mural inspired by a playground design of Japanese artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi. Designed and created by the restaurant's interior designer, Nicholas Roberto (whose clients also include Trick Dog, Causwells, and Huxley), the piece is deliberately abstract "to allow people to give to it their own interpretation," Roberto says. "Everybody is going to see something different." // True Laurel, 753 Alabama St. (Mission), truelaurelsf.com
The lively mural at Oakland's Dosa by Dosa does some heavy lifting, intended both to convey shiny, happy feelings, and to represent for the restaurant's provenance ("Love Life" is the city motto of Oakland) as well as for the South Asian heritage of both Dosa's owners and the artist, San Francisco-based Namita Kapoor. "I wanted the message to make people smile and reflect positivity," says Kapoor, who collaborated with her husband, photographer Gudmundur Vigfusson, and Berkeley Signs' owner/artist Steve Vigeant. The result is a riff on colorful Indian motifs as well as vintage American sign painting. The words "Hope Please" are a nod to Indian trucks, which often bear signs that read ""Horn OK Please!"
An additional black-and-white mural of Chandni Chowk (Delhi's Moonlight Square market) fills the back wall of the main dining, acting as a portal from Oakland to India. // Dosa by Dosa, 2301 Broadway (Oakland), dosabydosa.com
From the owners of Brass Tacks and Anina, Junior takes bar art to an all new level. "The art wall came about really organically, says Sayre Ziskin, of SVZ Interior Design, who managed all the pretty trappings of this new bar. Ziskin was drawn to the work of SF-based painter Velia De Iuliis—"because it has a surrealistic quality while also being heavily detailed like Renaissance paintings"—and commissioned a masculine hunting scene that would dominate the space.
"I designed a medieval-inspired animal fight," says De Iuliis. "The romantic, war-like animals fighting feels like some kind of animal rendition of the fight between Cain and Abel," says Ziskin, adding that "It feels both old and new. It might even lean toward an allegorical representation of our current political climate if you want to take it there. // Junior, 2545 24th St. (Mission), juniorbarsf.com
(Courtesy of Anina)
The owners may have gone for testosterone in the artwork at Junior (previous slide), but at Anina, it is a celebration of femininity: The floral mural by Argentinian artist Lucila Dominguez has been a darling of Instagram since the place opened in the spring of 2017. Known for her delicate yet wild botanical drawings, Dominguez brought this small Hayes Valley space to life with bromeliads, calla lilies and various tropical blooms, setting a sunny tone at one of the few SF bars to actually have sunlight on the patio. "The whole feel of the space was meant to be natural and textured, and I wanted a mural to give the space some warmth, color and make it feel alive, " says Sayre Ziskin, interior designer. The art wall matches perfectly with the fresh, colorful cocktails on the menu (order the Lucila, named after the artist). // Anina, 482 Hayes St. (Hayes Valley), aninasf.com
(Courtesy of Emporium)
SF muralist Lauren Asta painted the lobby of the new Emporium Arcade Bar with an appropriate scene: a playful mess of characters drinking, laughing and having fun. This is Asta's signature style, a way of keeping her sense of humor about the human experience. She completed the project in just two-and-a-half days, but the wall is incredibly all hand-painted. The work combines her skills as an illustrator, doodler and graffiti artist, and is the just-right backdrop for playing pinball and pool. The Emporium actually houses works by a number of interesting artists including another local, fnnch. // Emporium Arcade Bar, 616 Divisadero St. (NoPa), emporiumsf.com
Pastrami, bagel, chocolate babka and rugelach are not the only reasons to stop by Wise Sons' Fillmore location. To highlight the immersive experience of the Jewish delicatessen, cofounder Evan Bloom hired SF artist Amos Goldbaum to design a mural inspired by the Fillmore District of yore, once the hub of the local Jewish community.
"I referenced archival photos from two historically Jewish neighborhoods, the Fillmore in San Francisco and the Lower East Side in New York," says Goldbaum, who depicts our Victorian houses and streetcars inside a bustling street market of New York. The result is a refined portrait of a bi-coastal Jewish-American life. "My grandfather grew up in the tenements of the Lower East Side, and I wanted to incorporate the pushcarts and street food vendors that helped introduce Jewish food to America," explains the artist, who also worked also on the mural at Wise Sons' Hayes Valley location. // Wise Sons, 1520 Fillmore St. (NoPa), wisesonsdeli.com
(Patricia Chang, courtesy of SF Eater)
Craving the vibe of the typical Barcelona's Rambla with its lively bars? Barvale is the place. But in addition to tasty tapas and artful G&Ts you'll find the sultry silhouette of a flamenco dancer setting the tone above the bar. Interior designer Hannah Collins hired Wall and Wall, a creative design studio that does custom hand-painted murals.
"We worked with a pretty limited palette since the look and feel of the space is pretty minimalistic, and finished the figure with a stencil style," says Ferran Torras, Wall and Wall's founder. (As it happens, the design team also has an office in Barcelona, so sourcing inspiration wasn't hard. // Barvale, 661 Divisadero St. (NoPa), barvalesf.com
For International Smoke, partners Michael Mina and Ayesha Curry tapped notable graffiti artist Apexer, aka Ricardo Richey, to tag the restaurant. Well known in the international graffiti community and, best of all, in his hometown of San Francisco. As an active menacer of the Gestalt Collective, he's worked on several projects in the city including display windows at SFMOMA. Here he painted the pillars in the main dining room with the translation of the word "smoke" in different languages from around the world. // International Smoke, 301 Mission St. (SoMa), internationalsmoke.com
Leah Rosenberg's color blocked wall at State Bird Provisions.
(Courtesy of State Bird)
You likely already know the name of Leah Rosenberg, the artist and creative director now best known for her work on the Color Factory. But before she got all famous, Rosenberg was sort of the house artist for chefs Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski, who hired her to create some signature rainbow-colored work for both State Bird Provisions and The Progress. At State Bird, Rosenberg has recently replaced her original primary-hued pegboards with a wall dedicated to color blocking; while at the chefs' sophomore restaurant, she installed paint sticks, a cross between painting and sculpture. In both spaces the result is the same: a sense of joyful curiosity that matches the style in the kitchen. // State Bird Provisions, 1529 Fillmore St. (NoPa), statebirdsf.com; The Progress, 1525 Fillmore St. (NoPa), theprogress-sf.com.
