Light a fire and stoke an inviting mood

HERE in balmy L.A., where the temperature can reach 85 in November, fireplaces are blazing in trendy dining rooms all over town. Certainly it’s not a matter of physical warmth.

Of course not. It’s about creating cozy, intimate space. And what does that better than a crackling fire?

Think of Bastide, Falcon, Menemsha, Koi, Bliss, the Spanish Kitchen, Lucques and the Lodge. They have nothing in common but their fireplaces, which help transform a typical restaurant space into a room with a mood.

“Fireplaces are a welcome haven for people to congregate,” says Nina Briggs, who used two of them in her design for Menemsha. She placed them high enough to be seen from anywhere in the restaurant. “This way you’re always making eye contact with the warmth,” she says.

Alice Kimm, of John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects, deliberately put the fireplace outdoors at Falcon, turning the patio into an additional room. This gives guests a glimpse of fireplace as they enter, even if they never experience the warmth of the fire. “Frankly, it’s the nicest space in the restaurant,” adds Kimm.

Over at Koi, where there are three fireplaces, one gives drama to the entrance while the other two serve as a backdrop to lounge and dining space. “Fire creates a light and warmth that can’t be captured any other way,” says Koi’s general manager, Andrew Spence.

So are the tables next to the fire the hottest seats in town?

Larry Macias, general manager of the Spanish Kitchen, says the table for two near the fireplace is the place to sit. “People will wait and wait for that particular table,” he says. “It also happens to be in a private nook surrounded by greenery, but it’s the fireplace that draws them.”

Ever since we mastered fire, we have gathered around the hearth, and after thousands of years we’re still clamoring to sit next to a roaring blaze.