Esquisse: A Narrative

It is dusk as you cross the street and approach the entrance of the restaurant on the sidewalk. A train is crossing nearby as you see a two story brick building in front of you. Even before you cross the street you can see through the windows groups of people smiling and laughing. After the train passes you can hear faint sounds of music and can barely see a stage. When you open the door the music becomes louder as you enter a foyer with dim lighting. There are 2-3 stairs that take you up into the space. You smell fresh cooking garlic and rosemary. The brick you saw outside continues to the interior and you can tell from the high ceilings with exposed conduit and wood floors that this building has history. The foyer gets wider as you walk deeper in, but your view of the entire restaurant is partially obstructed behind a wall. You notice some level changes, but can’t tell yet where they lead. You can see the bar and stage to one side. Colors are deep and muted and keep emphasis on the brick and wood. Metals are matte and deeply colored. This heaviness is off set by the high ceilings. Your table isn’t ready so you head to the bar, following a path made through a change in flooring and vertical elements that separate the dining space. The bar is raised a few steps above the foyer level. At the bar, the noise level increases and you notice lighting accenting different elements of the space such as seating and bottle storage. The bar is not curved, but very sleek with metals and deep wood tones. Seating is plush and you make yourself comfortable at a loveseat where you watch the jazz band and can see the seating area off to your side. The stage where the band is performing is raised another couple steps and is near to some windows where people are walking by and looking in. There isn’t a space for dancing, but there are bar height tables nearby for people just interested in watching the band. As you move from the bar to the seating area you don’t go back the way you came, but step down into the dining space which is in the center of the restaurant. The dining area is the lowest level, at the heart of the space. You notice a change in flooring to a different shade of wood and also notice that the ceiling seems lower here. At your table you can see that the central dining area is surrounded by a low wall and railing which separates it from the rest of the restaurant. The low wall forms banquette seating around the edge. The seating is plush like the bar, but smaller. You can see the bar and stage still from the dining area but the surrounding sounds are dampened and you are able to speak at a normal level at your table to be heard. You can see there are several stairs leading down into the dining area, each coming from a different part of the restaurant, one from the bar, one from near the foyer, one from the back by where the kitchen is, and one on the 4th side which appears to lead to a private dining space on the main level that can seat about 20. It is partially blocked by the same vertical elements seen throughout the rest of the space. Throughout the space you notice shades of red used as accents mixed in with the metals, wood and brick. Vertical elements and level changes are used to separate the spaces visually. Lighting accentuates the level changes.