Bar Hermanito

I love food and believe restaurants are one of the best expressions of brand. They interact with all of our senses and therefore can tell a story on so many levels. Great restaurants think about every detail and how they inform an experience. From the name, to the branding, to the content, to the interior/exterior design, to the style of service, to what type of music and how loud it is upon arrival, to the type of service, to what the room smells like when you enter…. And I haven’t even mentioned the food. Each element is a chapter in a larger story and it is so exciting as a creative to think about the cohesive whole and then execute the hundred tiny details. Working on Hermanito was a thrill.

We took over a failing restaurant and gave it a soul by asking the question, what does it mean to be a Mexican restaurant in a Japanese neighborhood? We developed a concept that spoke to the owner’s Northern Mexican heritage and his longtime presence in the Sawtelle neighborhood and brought it to life across all touchpoints. I wish I could share the tastes and smells on this website, the photos below will have to suffice until you make it there yourself.