FIDI’S BRAWNY BAR

The Sequoia: Tyler Florence’s glam lounge above his Wayfare Tavern is buffed to a golden sheen

The entrance to the Sequoia, the new fourth-floor bar and lounge above Wayfare Tavern, is so discreet you might miss the plaque next to the door if you aren’t looking. Once you step inside, there’s no missing the Transamerica Pyramid. Framed by a newly installed skylight, it seems to float directly overhead.

“When we started (the design), I said, ‘I bet we have a view,’ ” says Tyler Florence, the Food Network star, and chefowner of Wayfare Tavern. “It turns out we did.”

Florence’s latest space in the 1907 Financial District building, which was at one time a gold measuring center, may be brand new, but he and designer Ken Fulk wanted the space to pay homage not only to the building’s history, but also San Francisco’s.

“It’s a great compliment when people say it looks like this has always been here,” Florence says. “We wanted it to feel like it could be a place where you’d have a great night in many different eras.”

The Sequoia’s mood owes a little to the speakeasies of the 1920s, and a little to the masculine texture of 1940s film noir. It also pulls a whole lot of glam from every decade imaginable, from the high 1970s glitz of the mirrored bar and custom leather patchwork barstools to the Edwardian fringed chandelier that lights one of the room’s most commented-on features, a former gold vault turned whiskey locker.

“It’s definitely one of the power tables,” he says of a leather booth nestled into the fortress-like space. Florence is accumulating a collection of rare whiskeys that will be on display in the vault.

From the geometric inlaid table tops and faux crocodile chair upholstery to the vintage Bohemian Grove photos that line the walls, details keep the eye traveling.

“Tyler and I are both storytellers,” Fulk says. “We love to create these kind of movie experiences in spaces.”

Photos by Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle Vaulted: Chef Tyler Florence occupies the Sequoia’s new power booth, located in a former bank vault presumably left over from when the building was a gold-measuring center. It will also house his whiskey collection.

Drink up: Danase Louis shakes a drink at the bar. “If the lower level of Wayfare is the 1890s,” says Ken Fulk, “this to me felt like Prohibition: A proper bar where you might get into a little trouble and have to get escorted down the back stairs so no...

Textural touches: Faux crocodileupholstered chairs and leopard-print carpet unify the Sequoia with a touch of whimsy. “Leopard is timeless,” Fulk says. “It can belong in any decade.”

Room with a view: The new fourth-floor Sequoia bar and lounge features a dramatic view of the Transamerica Pyramid.