The ground-floor restaurant space inside San Francisco's landmark Pacific Telephone Building has sat empty for almost two years, ever since chef Mourad Lahlou's namesake restaurant closed in October 2024. Now a new restaurant project called Sutro Hall is associated with the former Mourad space at 140 New Montgomery.
Doug Washington has worked in hospitality and restaurant design. The available background describes his long career in San Francisco's restaurant industry and identifies his design company as Doug Washington Design.
The former Mourad space has a significant place in San Francisco dining history. Mourad, which opened there in 2015, earned a Michelin star in 2016 and held onto it through 2021 before losing it in 2022 amid post-pandemic staffing shortages that hit fine dining hard, according to the Daily Meal. Mourad's eventual closure followed a legal dispute with the City of San Francisco, which had sued seeking $88,000 in alleged back taxes along with $63,000 in delinquent unsecured property taxes, as Hoodline previously reported.
A Mourad Alumnus Returns to the Kitchen
Executive chef Michael Magallanes has his own history with the building: he was part of Mourad's 2015 opening team. Magallanes currently serves as executive chef at San Francisco's Jay Hotel, whose restaurants are run by Omakase Restaurant Group, and he trained for five years under Lahlou at Michelin-starred Aziza before launching his pop-up series Opulent Chef in 2016, per the Chronicle's reporting and background from The Herb Somm.
At Sutro Hall, Magallanes plans to serve grilled meats and vegetables. The menu description uses culinary terms including oil, acid, spices, fat and butter.
Cocktails From a Trick Dog Co-Founder
Behind the bar, beverage director Scott Baird brings serious cocktail experience. Baird co-founded the acclaimed Mission District bar Trick Dog in 2013, according to Cali Weekly.
The article also discusses a planned cocktail program for Sutro Hall.
A Third Partner With Ties to Eleven Madison Park
Rounding out the reported background is creative associate Steven Eckler, who helped open Eleven Madison Park for Danny Meyer, according to background compiled by Doug Washington Design.
The restaurant is called Sutro Hall.
Reworking a Michelin-Star Dining Room
The proposed restaurant is associated with Mourad's former dining space.
The Pacific Telephone Building is the setting for the restaurant.
A Courtyard, a Rebound, and Cheaper Rent
The building is part of the project's setting.
The project's context includes the building's ground-floor restaurant space.
Washington's hospitality and restaurant-design background is part of the project's context. Whether Sutro Hall can hold up remains to be seen once it opens its doors.
