Tori Tori
71 Anatole France, Polanco
Mexico City
Tel: 011.55.5280.9069
Architects: Rojkind Arquitectos + Esrawe Studio

Tori Tori, a new Japanese restaurant in Mexico City’s upscale Polanco district, inhabits a former house. Due to changes in the area’s zoning, many residences have been converted into commercial spaces but none with a facade as striking as Tori Tori’s. Taking a cue from the natural ivy that climbs the walls around the site, two layers of lattice-like grilles seem to emerge from the ground and climb up and around the two floors of the eatery. The two self-supporting CNC-cut steel-plate layers filter light and shadow through glass walls, creating a constantly changing ambiance. The former home’s interior also underwent a complete restructuring: wood clads most of the interior surfaces, and over eight months custom-made furniture was completed. The eclectic mix of spaces—a main dining room, a sake bar, terraces, and even a small temple—are all surrounded by vegetation, blurring the line between inside and out.