Barbacco Restaurant

Barbacco, in San Francisco's Financial District, is the "sexy little sister" of Perbacco, the acclaimed 2006 Italian restaurant on California Street.

Owners Umberto Gibin and chef Staffan Terje saw the need for a more casual option to serve the neighborhood, and when a space next door became available, they engaged CCS Architecture to develop a trattoria that would convert to an enoteca or wine bar at night. The result is Barbacco Eno Trattoria.

Barbacco, with 66 seats, occupies a long, narrow room within the 1912 Hind Building. Inspired by traditional wine bars in Milan and Rome, the space is sleek, urbane and welcoming. A dramatic shaped ceiling, evoking the lines of a sports car, links the higher ceiling at the front of the restaurant with the lower ceiling toward the rear. Forms, detailing, colors and art celebrate Italian culture, cinema, and design. Blurred images of Vespa scooters, wine barrels, sexy Italian screen stars, and motorcycles create a sense of sport and speed.

The wine bar and eating counter extend the length of the space and sumptuously curve. An extended row of counter-height tables provides flexibility, accommodating the change from daytime to evening. Community tables cultivate a bustling atmosphere toward the front of the space. "Ferrari Yellow" elements--a beverage case on one wall, with framed mirror and blurred images opposite--horizontally line the room. A frameless glass storefront provides views of the warm interior and opens the restaurant to the urban landscape beyond. San Francisco’s famous cable cars rattle by adding an extra sense of romance.

Vibrant yellow combines with more subdued colors to complement the wall of exposed brick. Negro Marquina stone and stainless steel create an urbane, almost industrial feel that is moderated by the warm, textural, dark wood bar face. Walnut and chrome details on the tables and chairs recall the dashboard of a luxury car. Bias-patterned gray and yellow floor tiles reinforce the feeling of movement.

Barbacco is filled with the flavors of Northern Italy, emanating from the food, but also from the restaurant’s colors, materials and urban attitude. Incorporating some of Perbacco's DNA, CCS Architecture has created a chic and approachable new gathering spot that is already a destination in its own right.

by CCS Architecture