Meyhouse, Palo Alto – USA

Meyhouse Restaurant is the passion project of two Silicon Valley former tech company owners, Omer Artun and Koray Altinsoy, who met through their bay area Turkish community events. Through these events Omer and Koray discovered their mutual passion for sharing traditional Aegean and Turkish food.
The flourishment of their community cooking lead to the open their first restaurant in a modest space along the lively pedestrian street of Murphy Ave in Sunnyvale. This is where husband and wife Architects Keith and Megan Blaine spent their twelfth wedding anniversary for dinner. Keith and Megan were amazed that at this small restaurant, they experienced the best meal they had ever had in Silicon Valley. Omer and Koray approached Keith and Megan to work with them in bringing their next, and much larger restaurant in downtown Palo Alto in a space formerly used as a brewery, repurposed as their new fine dining restaurant.
The design for Meyhouse Palo Alto immediately took on a play of contrast inspired by the food prepared from the land and sea. This contrast is expressed through the composition of the earthen color pallet and the selection of raw materials. Omer is also an artist and craftsman that brought this project to life with his hands and personal craftsmanship of several handmade components.
As a guest you enter through a portal in a historically listed building from the turn of the last century to a larger volume capped by exposed timber beams that speak to the time of when the building was built. Guests are welcomed by a receptionist, who is backlit from the flames of the large open charcoal grill.
The dynamic warm flames dance light off the bed of ice displaying the catch of the day. The preparation of the food as an activity of art was important for Koray. The kitchen is stretched along the entire length of the north side of the interior. Guests are able to engage and feel the energy of the process. The main dining area is between this open kitchen the extensive bar spanning the length the opposite wall. The bar is completely built by Omer from the curving marble counter, to the walnut display shelving, to the large fish sculpture on the wall above.
The dining experience in made more intimate by custom designed seating banquettes manufactured in Turkey. The central dining area banquettes are arranged under a sea of ceramic pendant lights that were each hand made and glazed by Omer. Along the periphery of the space are smaller, more enclosed dining areas. At the front, the guests engage with the vibrant street scene through larger operable windows. At the far end of the space are guest can have a flexible sized party lit by custom made wall sconces made by Omer that match his handmade plates the food is served on.
As guests make their way to back of the restaurant, down a dimly lit hallway, leads to a secret speakeasy. The space is exclusive to a few dozen table tops with alcoves flanking the walls that act as a gallery for art. At the far end is grand piano and a small stage where grammy award winning jazz musicians and singers perform multiple nights a week between private events.
The success of the space comes from Omer and Korey’s dedication to sharing their craft of Aegean Turkish food and engagement and welcoming in the community into Meyhouse Palo Alto.