Iconic Izzy's Steaks and Chops in San Francisco Got the Perfect Update by Gachot Studios
ELLE DECOR A-List design firm Gachot Studios has made their hospitality debut in San Francisco with the restoration and design of the restaurant mainstay Izzy’s Steaks and Chops.
John and Christine Gachot, who recently redesigned the patron’s lounge at the Metropolitan Opera with ELLE DECOR in New York City, have reimagined the local favorite, first opened in 1987, bridging San Francisco’s past and future.
“It’s all happened at Izzy’s,” Christine told ELLE DECOR, “and we wanted to preserve those memories. But it was also time for a refresh. We approached the process with a careful, thoughtful lens. Our goal was for the community to feel at home.”
The star of that refreshed home is a mural painted by Matthew Benedict, which travels through the bar and dining area. Characters in the mural include Izzy Gomez, the restaurant’s namesake, restaurant founder Sam DuVall, and actress and burlesque dancer, Sally Rand.
The bar area includes a new custom bar topped in a soapstone overhung by vintage milk glass pendants; checkerboard marble flooring, and stained walnut ceiling beams. Artwork by Donald Judd anchors the back wall and dining nook. A center wine table doubles as a partition to the seated dining area on the first floor.
Original private booths were preserved in the restoration downstairs, offering intimate seating areas for tables of two or four to dine on oysters Rockefeller, prime rib, Alaskan halibut or any number of standout items from Chef Daniel Lucero.
On the second floor mezzanine, the Gachots referenced the past with the installation of a comprehensive gallery wall including Izzy’s Steaks and Chops memorabilia from the DuVall’s collection–everything ranging from tiny framed matchbooks and business cards to engagement photos at the restaurant.
“Re-envisioning an iconic local institution like Izzy’s is no small task,” Christine Gachot says. “Our hope was that the sense of family and deep-rooted culture, so important to generations of locals, would remain just as special as it has always been.”
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