El Pípila has just been nominated for a James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant Design! Congratulations to Neal Schwartz et al!
Our updated tagline for El Pípila—“Guardians of Guanajuatan Cuisine”—is expressed in our design of the restaurant’s environmental graphics. We envisioned the restaurant as a metaphoric garden filled with flowers and butterflies: a gathering place for sustenance and community. This garden of Guanajuatan culture and cuisine is protected by guardians of the night: dogs beneath stars, and scorpions. Larger dogs serve as guardians of the day.
See the full spectrum of our work for El Pípila under Design is Play Studio Systems.
Photography: Bruce Damonte