side a S.F.

is a music-forward bistro in San Francisco's Mission District where the listening experience is as intentional as the food. Good Question Sound was brought on to design a sound system worthy of a space that would come to be called one of the best new restaurants in America by Esquire.

The brief: curate a listening experience that felt less like restaurant background music and more like a sonic shrine — the kind of system you find in the world's great listening bars, from Tokyo to Lisbon to New York. We drew on those references to engineer what we call a "new-fi" approach: honoring the warmth and soul of high-end audio while embracing modern precision and clarity.

At the heart of the room, custom Tub's Audio speakers — the first ever installed in a restaurant in the United States — anchor a three-point ceiling array with a subwoofer tucked behind a sculptural aluminum DJ booth designed in collaboration with 280 West & Studio Ahead. The signal chain runs through an NST Audio Id48x processor and a handcrafted Khramov Audio rotary mixer, with two Technics 1200gr2s completing the setup. Every seat in the house was tuned to receive the same enveloping, detailed experience.

The result is a room where the music isn't just heard — it moves through you. Side A has since been recognized by Esquire, Wallpaper*, the SF Chronicle, Eater SF, and more. We couldn't be prouder of what this collaboration brought into the world.

Sound System Highlights:

Tubs Audio - DC10 & GC18

NST Audio - Id48x signal processor

Technics - 1200gr2

Khramov Audio - Rm-2 MKII rotary mixer

Benidub Digital Echo