Croft in the Neighborhood: Sotto

Over the past few years Croft House has had the opportunity to furnish a handful of restaurants with some of our commercial table tops and furniture.  At this point, we have table tops, communal tables, point of sale stations, shelves, booths, chairs, and more in more than 20 restaurants, hotels, showrooms and other commercial spaces all over the country.  

Getting into commercial builds can be very difficult, especially when it comes to finding that first job. Understandably, it can be difficult for a smaller design house or manufacturer to secure a bid without having a larger scale reference to vouch for their ability.  Luckily for Croft, we had a lovely little restaurant-to-be called Sotto come calling back in January of 2011.  

(photo credit: Cathy Chaplin)

(photo credit: Cathy Chaplin)

(photo credit: Cathy Chaplin)

(photo credit: Kari Streib)

We met with Chefs Zach and Steve, as well as GM Dina Samson, to try and design 2 tops, 4 tops, and communal tables that fit the desired Sotto aesthetic, and just as importantly, though less romantically, the budget! 

If you haven't been(go!) Sotto is located within a beautiful building on Pico Blvd.  The building is split into two restaurants, Picca Peru on top(more about them another time) and Sotto on bottom.  As if it's a secret club, Sotto has a set of stairs that lead down to the front door and entrance.  Removed and secluded, the interior has a comfortable, modern ambiance.  Upon entering, you can see directly into the kitchen, where their massive, yellow tiled, wood burning oven sits. It doesn't take long to notice how fast the pizzas cook, about 30 to 45 seconds each.  

The dining room has low lighting, large pale tile floors, and red striped banquette seating to add a touch of color.  We wanted to build on the warmth in the room, and add a bit of a rustic quality to the atmosphere.  

With this in mind, we decided to go with a solid, reclaimed wood top based on our Railcar line, but with one important custom specification.

(photo credit: Kari Streib) 

 (photo credit: Kari Streib)

The tops sit on top of a standard pedestal base, like you'll find in most restaurants.  With a solid top, there is always the risk that without support, the boards may crack over time. In order to prevent this we gave the tables a patchwork assembly.  This helps to prevent damage to the table top by providing more joining points, and distributing any stress placed on the table top across a higher number of individual pieces. 

One point to be careful of with this construction style is keeping the tops of the tables even as possible.  We added a small brace to the bottom of each salvaged wood table top to keep them as rigid. We think it looked pretty good!

 (photo credit: Kari Streib)

(photo credit: Kari Streib)

In the center of the restaurant, there are two large communal tables for bar height seating.  The folks over at Sotto had their eye on our Mossam Table top, with repurposed barnwood, for these. No problem, we built two large tops, placed on top of our industrial steel Railcar Table legs.  The Mossam top has a strip style look to the wood, which goes perfectly with the pieced together look of the 2 tops and 4 tops.  

  (photo credit: Kari Streib)

  (photo credit: Kari Streib)



(photo credit: Kari Streib)

Lastly, there was a need for a bit of bar shelving.   Something understated and industrial, mostly there for function.  We  measured out the space and custom designed some glass and steel shelving based loosely on our Chambers Coffee Table.  Voila - our work for Sotto was done!

If you haven't yet been to Sotto, you're missing out. Aesthetics aside, the food is outrageously good and the staff couldn't be better.  You're unlikely to find a night when either Chef Zack or Chef Steve aren't there cooking up a storm in front of your very eyes.  The terrific cocktail selection is constantly changing as well as the rest of the menu.  Perfect place for a Valentines Day date!  

Head in and enjoy the food, drinks, atmosphere and of course the table tops.  You won't regret it!

Interested in commercial work and design by Croft House?  Click here for more information, or email us at info@crofthouse.com.

Interested in a reservation at Sotto? Click here.