Master Oak brings soul to Toronto's Occhiolino

Pasta Meets Performance

Pastificio Occhiolino isn’t a typical restaurant. It’s a combined pasta eatery and laboratory. This meant: high production and dining traffic and use. When designing the restaurant, the two understood they needed a material that felt natural but also would stand up to abuse.

“We didn’t want to compromise the sensory feeling of space for performance.  We needed to find the balance between the two,” Guido explained.

Unilin Master Oak provided the tactile, warm feeling the studio wanted, offering the look and feel of premium rift white oak veneer, but could also withstand heavy traffic. The ability to color-match across different materials in the Master Oak suite was also important to a studio that is known for its reductive palette.  

Guido Costantino and Domenica Rodà craft spaces that speak softly but make an impression. Although they tend to keep things restrained, the feeling of space is always a careful consideration. Material choice matters to us,” says Domenica. The studio used Master Oak light natural for the tables and for the fused laminate wall panels.

And it delivered. The restaurant is a wonderful new addition to the Toronto dining scene.  A local newspaper even listed it as one of the most beautiful restaurants in the city. Quite the compliment, right?