The design for Comedor, a modern Mexican restaurant in downtown Austin, creates a sanctuary on a busy urban intersection. Quiet from the outside, inside visitors are transported to an urban oasis in the heart of Austin. A discreet entry sequence on the south opens to a glass-wrapped, double-height dining space, where candlelight and a tonal material palette of steel, Hickory wood and concrete continues the sense of mystery established outside.
The heart of Comedor is the interior courtyard, which is open to the elements and contains Palo Verde and Acacia trees and a small fountain. The interior dining space with bar and formal dining adjoins to the courtyard via four retractable guillotine window walls operated via manual hand cranks, allowing Comedor to open completely to the outdoors. Warm leather upholstery, wood banquettes and tables, and multi-colored textiles soften the custom blackened steel furnishings, which include custom chairs, bar stools and light fixtures. Throughout, a careful orchestration of contrasts defines this comfortably refined modern restaurant.
