When the owners of San Francisco’s Michelin-recognized, contemporary Indian restaurant Rooh decided to open the 2,480-square-foot Pippal restaurant in Emeryville, just across the bay, they had a clear plan. “They really wanted the bar to be the star of the show,” says Dane Bunton, cofounder and managing principal of San Francisco–based Studio BANAA, “so that was the focal point.” The bar would function as a magnet to draw folks off the street and into the space.
That “street” is Bay Break, a second-story dining terrace at the Bay Street Emeryville mall.