In Los Angeles’s Chinatown, Café Tondo balances memory and modernity with warmth and craft.
Design as Narrative
Café Tondo’s interiors, designed by Aunt Studio, reveal the building’s layered history as a French bar, acupuncture clinic, and mechanic shop. Original scuffed floors and painted brick sit alongside a continuous thread of earthen red plaster, creating a dialogue between preservation and renewal. Sunlight floods through expansive windows, casting light on custom furniture by OMBIA Studio and textured ceramics curated by Isabella Marengo.
A Gathering Place
Shaped as an all-day café and evening bar, the space shifts seamlessly from morning coffee to live jazz, salsa nights, and DJ sets. Every detail—from handcrafted furnishings to navy accents—works toward creating a place that feels both intimate and communal.
Culinary Roots
Chef Luis Luna, formerly of Enrique Olvera’s Damian and Guadalajara’s Xokol, guides the kitchen with small plates that celebrate Latin American traditions while looking toward the future. The menu and atmosphere together transform Café Tondo into more than a restaurant—it becomes a cultural hub built on connection, memory, and hospitality.
