An LA-based team consisting of Mouthwash Studio and Aunt Studio has designed a Mexican restaurant with a large terrace beneath a railroad track in the city's Chinatown district.
Designed with Aunt Studio, the interiors for Cafe Tondo are modeled after a casual cantina in Mexico City and are intended to be welcoming and act as a community center.
The project is a collaboration between Mouthwash Studio partner and Cafe Tondo creative director Abraham Campillo; Mouthwash Studio partners Mackenzie Freemire, Alex Tan and Ben Mingo; Mike Kang of Locale Partners; and chef Valeria Velásquez.
“In Mexican culture, making someone feel welcome goes beyond food or drink,” Campillo said. “It's about warmth, generosity and creating a space where people feel seen. The same spirit is present in every detail of the café.”
The restaurant is open day and night, serving coffee, wine and small plates, as well as an evening program of live jazz, boleros, salsa and DJ sessions.
The team hopes that Café Tondo “fills the gap left by the disappearance of the 'third places' – a space that promotes connection and invites people to linger longer.”
Bespoke furniture designed by OMBIA Studio and handcrafted in Mexico fills the space, and the ceramics were also sourced from Mexico by Isabella Marengo of Bugambilia.
Benches and stools with velvet-upholstered tabletops and wooden bases populate the entry foyer, which is encased in glass on three sides.
A central portal leads to the main dining area and bar, where painted brick walls, dark wood shelving and mirrored panels can be found.
Sleek metal-framed bar stools are upholstered with cream-colored ruffled cushions, while wooden tables and dining chairs provide more formal dining options.
From the outside, neon red light strips circle above the entrance and bathe the outdoor seating in a red light at night.
Part of the indoor dining area also opens onto the terrace via glazed panels that reach to the ceiling.
The last time Mouthwash Studio and Aunt Studio worked together was to furnish the former's offices, also in Chinatown, with glass block partitions and walnut bleachers.
Other new additions to LA's dining scene include restaurant Muse, whose interiors are decorated in earthy caramel tones, and pizzeria Wildcrust, which is influenced by Milanese modernism.
Photography is by Sean Davidson.