Dining on Design

It’s a Tuesday afternoon in late October, and I am awaiting my interview with noted restaurateur Pat Kuleto when I receive a frantic phone call from his publicist informing me that he is at the hospital waiting for his son’s surgeon to provide an update. I immediately assume the reason for the call is to reschedule, but, no, he just wants to push our conversation back a little while. When I do speak with Pat, within an hour from our originally scheduled time, he is as calm as if we are meeting in his office, a notable characteristic for a man whose creative background would lead one to believe that he is full of emotion.

Turns out his son had a mishap on an ATV at Kuleto Estate, a 761-acre ranch on the eastern edge of Napa Valley, resulting in the aforementioned surgery on his foot. Said mishap took place just moments before the winery was set to host a private event with a guest list that totaled 300, but Pat took it all in stride.

He has earned the right to relax. Over the course of his career, he has designed more than 190 restaurant interiors, starting with San Francisco’s established favorite Fog City Diner, which he completed in 1985. He is adamant about never doing the same concept twice. “To me, every project has its own story to tell, and there is every possible different situation happening in restaurants,” something he is aware of thanks to his experience in the service industry. He began his restaurant career as a busboy, waiter, and cook, and therefore possesses an understanding of how a restaurant needs to work from a server’s perspective, something that many restaurant designers lack. He also has a passion for innovation, five-star cuisine, and fine wine, and thus combines them all in each of his establishments, where he pairs with top chefs who can execute his visions.

His current portfolio includes Kuleto Estates (which had a record season in 2009, harvesting an unheard of 190-plus tons of grapes), Boulevard, Farallon, Jardiniere, Martini House, Waterbar, EPIC Roasthouse, and Nick’s Cove & Cottages. It is only upon mention of this last property that Kuleto’s animated personality begins to shine. Nick’s Cove is more than a restaurant; it is an entire hospitality project on Tomales Bay that was restored by Kuleto and opened in 2007 after an arduous eight-year renovation. “Nick’s is a classic place,” he says. “It is an 80-year-old fishing village that I bought 10 years ago. I restored the cottages and restaurant. There is a 400-foot-long pier, and I put in some boat slips, which is natural, since it has always been a little fishing port.”

His excitement is understandable. In a fishing village from the 1930s, Kuleto revamped 12 ocean-themed cottages that feature private decks, fireplaces, and all the technological amenities one would expect from a luxury property in the year 2009. Just an hour outside of San Francisco via the Golden Gate, Nick’s Cove provides an ideal escape for anyone looking to retreat from the city life. The entire resort embraces its waterfront perch, with aquatic activities for guests such as kayaking, historical boat tours, and crab and fly-fishing. Landlubbers can get in on the action, too, with moonlight wine tastings, culinary tours, and spa treatments.

He is also implementing a boat charter service at Nick’s Cove in response to visitor demand. “Everyone wanted to get out on the Bay, but there was no way to do so,” he states. “I decided to get a bunch of old wooden Grand Banks boats.” He hopes to launch the charter service, which he dubbed Boat Goombahs (“Boat Buddies”), this spring. He tried to get service out onto the water this past summer, but a total of 23 government agencies swept in, each requiring different operational permits and documentation. Once the extensive heap of paperwork is in order, guests will be able to take further advantage of the waterfront locale.

Nick’s Cove is not the only bayfront property of Kuleto’s that required special approval from local interest groups. EPIC Roasthouse and Waterbar, his two new waterfront restaurants on the border of the South of Market and financial districts, were the first new buildings built on the water in San Francisco in more than 100 years. Thus, the heavily regulated establishments required a persistence and dedication to excellence from Kuleto. “It was worth it,” he states, “so people have to enjoy it when they realize the hard work that went with it.” Diners are certainly taking advantage of the prestigious perches, flocking to the outdoor tables to enjoy the delectable cuisine and soak in the prestigious views.

What’s more, the interiors can compete with the fantastic views. Kuleto had been mulling over the concepts for both EPIC Roasthouse and Waterbar for years and actively looking for a space that would lend themselves to the design when these fell into his lap. When the City of San Francisco decided to build two new buildings on the water, they came directly to Kuleto to head up one of the two restaurant spaces. Based on the prestige of his other establishments, it was a given that he would raise the bar on waterfront dining in the Bay Area. “I realized they were both great locations,” he says, “but I didn’t want to take just one….I didn’t want a Chili’s or something going in next door, so we negotiated for the two spots.”

For Waterbar, he envisioned a cross between a Hong Kong fish market and a fine dining establishment, a concept that he felt was absent from the local dining scene. “I felt that San Francisco didn’t have any exceptional, or even really very good, seafood restaurants on the water. The waterfront restaurants capitalized on the tourism and being close to the Bay, but I didn’t want this to be any run-of-the-mill seafood restaurant, and I didn’t want to compete with Farallon.” His concept is brought to life through the restaurant’s design centerpiece: 19-foot-tall, floor-to-ceiling circular aquariums that are filled only with species found in the local part of the Pacific Ocean, updated accordingly as the seasons change. Behind these sit four large aquariums that house the actual menu products. Diners have the option of approaching the tanks and selecting their fish from the salt and fresh water tanks. “The concept was to have you go pick out a live fish and all but prepare it on the spot,” Kuleto recalls, “but many times my concepts get lost in the translation by chefs who say it is simply too hard. But Waterbar offers fresh, live seafood on the Bay, and we wanted it to be very product-driven. We literally pull the fish out of the tank and filet it, bring it to the table, and serve it up special.” To create the ever-changing menu, Kuleto partnered with Chef Mark Franz, who previously oversaw the kitchen at Farallon, which earned him accolades such as “Chef of the Decade” award in 2002 by the California Culinary Academy.

Next door at EPIC Roasthouse, the design takes on a more rugged aspect, with a wood-fired grill and fireplace serving as the focal point. Chef Jan Birnbaum’s menu reflects the “modern roasthouse” concept that Kuleto infused into the exhibition-style kitchen’s design through a custom-built wood-fired grill and large wood-burning oven. The restaurant itself features rich leathers, open beamed ceilings, and striking pillars that invoke the thought of water pipes, a play to the waterfront locale.

Considering that these are the first new buildings on the San Francisco waterfront in 100 years, it is no wonder that there was a huge tangled web of government agencies that Kuleto and team had to sift through in order to get the establishments open. From concept to fruition, EPIC and Waterbar took five years, a lengthy engagement that can only be topped by the seven-and-a-half years it took to get Nick’s Cove up and running. “It’s all because of proximity to water. If anybody ever brings me a location that has so much as a damp spot on the road in front of it, I am passing!” he jokes.

While working on these establishments for the majority of the last decade, he was also mulling on three additional projects, including one Tao-inspired nightclub, restaurant, and banquet space, all of which have been put on hold due to the economic climate. But he does have a top-secret venture about to debut in Mexico. While details are scarce, he shares that it is related to the restaurant and hotel business, and that we should receive the official announcement in spring 2010. While throughout the course of his career, Kuleto’s projects have mainly focused on the highest tier, this will open up a new market for the restaurateur, successfully changing the hospitality game that he plays so well. Considering he is at the top of it right now as evidenced by these three properties, we are all looking forward to seeing what comes out of Kuleto’s corner next.