Case Study
El Faro Restaurant Site
A responsive restaurant website for El Faro, combining modern UI with practical business needs like online ordering, menu visibility, and clear calls-to-action for customers.
UpdatedLast updated: November 2025
Overview
El Faro is a family-owned Mexican restaurant where I've worked and helped manage operations. The website needed to support both branding and day-to-day realities: customers quickly finding the menu, online ordering links, and basic information like hours and location. This case study focuses on translating a local restaurant brand into a clean, responsive web experience.
Goals & constraints
The priorities were clarity and accessibility. Customers often visit restaurant sites on their phones, so I focused on mobile usability, simple navigation, and readable menu layouts. At the same time, the site had to be simple to maintain, since updates to menu items and prices happen regularly.
Tech stack & implementation
I built the site with React and Tailwind CSS, structuring the UI into reusable components for hero, menu sections, ordering links, and location info. Tailwind allowed me to rapidly iterate on spacing, typography, and color while keeping the styles consistent. Framer Motion was used because it gives the site a smooth, professional feel without adding heavy complexity. Subtle animations—fade-ins, slides, staggered transitions—help guide the user’s eye and make the interface feel more alive.
Design decisions
I leaned into clean typography, high contrast, and straightforward layout. The primary actions—viewing the menu and accessing online ordering—are visually emphasized. Sections are broken into clear, scannable blocks so customers can quickly find what they need, whether they're on desktop or mobile.
Outcome
The El Faro site improved how customers accessed menus and ordering links online, while giving the restaurant a more modern web presence. For me, it reinforced how much good frontend design is about clarity and supporting real-world business workflows.