Séptimo Ostería
Interior Design & Fabrication
Year: 2014
Status: Completed
Location: San Ángel, México City
Séptimo Ostería is a thoughtfully designed restaurant, a collaboration between TUUX and graphic designer Quique Ollervides. Most elements were custom-made for the restaurant, inspired by the warmth of traditional Italian osterias and adapted to the contemporary San Ángel context.
The main feature is a ground-floor terrace pergola with inclined modules that create dynamic shadows, distinctively setting the restaurant apart from others on Altavista. Black luminaires, some enclosed in wooden cages, hang irregularly from the pergola, symbolizing the blend of contemporary design and traditional Italian culinary simplicity.
The restaurant's operation is divided into three independent sections: a central bar for drinks, a second bar under trees with a pizza and bread oven, and an indoor kitchen for other menu items. This setup allows guests to observe the kitchen's coordination, similar to a social cooking gathering at a friend's home.
The design emphasizes traditional craftsmanship, echoing the time-honored processes of Italian cooking. The facade and bar coverings feature a mix of stone and pressed concrete tiles, creating a texture that mirrors contemporary cuisine's experimentation with ingredients. The terrace floors are covered with hexagonal pressed concrete tiles in a gradient of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns, with darker tiles near the bars.
Custom-designed furniture includes wooden chairs, solid wood tables, low coat racks, service carts, wine cellars, service stations, sofas, low tables, and wooden luminaires for both indoor and outdoor use. The upper floor has a festive atmosphere with a blue-violet color palette, heavy curtains, Venetian mosaics, and a wrought iron and stained glass lattice, opening to a terrace with sofas and low tables overlooking San Ángel.
Vegetation is integral to the design, with plants and flowers around the perimeter, Ligustrum trees framing the pizza oven, and a garden with trees, flowers, and aromatic herbs at the back of the terrace.
The graphic identity centers on a custom-designed glyph of the number seven, symbolizing artisanal cooking and personal touch. The typography features Esmeralda as the main font and Antenna as the supporting typeface, ensuring playful and legible compositions. Logos and texts are in black with red accents on cream or white backgrounds, ensuring readability under various lighting conditions.
Menu covers, business cards, coasters, and signage incorporate graphic elements from the pergola design, floor tiles, or the metal lattice on the second floor, creating a cohesive visual identity.
