Even hotel restaurants are trying to go farm-to-table these days, and the current case-in-point is Trace, the replacement eatery for XYZ at the W Hotel. In addition to introducing a new menu of locally sourced dishes like wild fennel pollen pappardelle and grilled Monterey squid with heirloom tomatoes, they hired architect Stanley Saitowitz (whose only previous restaurant interior had been Conduit, now Another Monkey). The design is meant to evoke both the gridded map of S.F. streets and the fog that blankets our city much of the year.
(The inspiration came from a line by local poet Ambrose Bierce: “This city is a point upon a map of fog.”)
Clean-lined furnishings evoke buildings in the cityscape, with the carpet evoking grids of streets. The coloring of the restaurant is primarily muted, black and gray fading to white, with little bits of colored light peering through like lights in office towers, or neon signs through the fog in North Beach.
See the dinner menu and our complete slideshow below, and be aware that the lobby bar at the W is currently closed for a total, complementary overhaul as well. When that project is complete, by mid-October, the lobby bar, restaurant, and upstairs bar/lounge will flow seamlessly together and share the same design elements.
Earlier: XYZ to Close at the W to Make Way for the More ‘Localist’ Trace
Trace - at the W Hotel, Third and Howard - 415.817.7836 - Open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast: Monday - Friday 6:30am - 10:30am, Saturday & Sunday 7:00am - 10:00am; Lunch: Monday - Friday 11:30am - 2:00pm; Brunch: Saturday & Sunday 10:00am - 2:00pm; Dinner: Monday - Thursday, Sunday 6:00pm - 10:00pm, Friday & Saturday 6:00pm - 11:00pm.
