Interior Spaces: The theatre of dining

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An open kitchen, with sculptural preparation benches, includes the customer in the cooking experience.

An open kitchen, with sculptural preparation benches, includes the customer in the cooking experience. Image: Jono Parker

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Elegant tan-leather booth seating is flanked by an open kitchen on one side and casual dining on the other.

Elegant tan-leather booth seating is flanked by an open kitchen on one side and casual dining on the other. Image: Jono Parker

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Marble counter-tops, tiles and dark wood add a sense of timelessness and luxury.

Marble counter-tops, tiles and dark wood add a sense of timelessness and luxury. Image: Jono Parker

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Bivacco’s interior accommodates up to 300 people with interior and al fresco dining options and bar.

Bivacco’s interior accommodates up to 300 people with interior and al fresco dining options and bar. Image: Jono Parker

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A large verandah connects diners with the hustle bustle of Auckland’s waterfront.

A large verandah connects diners with the hustle bustle of Auckland’s waterfront. Image: Jono Parker

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Classic European bentwood bar chairs complement the understated high-quality finishes.

Classic European bentwood bar chairs complement the understated high-quality finishes. Image: Jono Parker

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Bivacco’s deep-green-stained oak corner bar offers passers-by the opportunity to pop in for a casual aperitivo.

Bivacco’s deep-green-stained oak corner bar offers passers-by the opportunity to pop in for a casual aperitivo. Image: Jono Parker

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In Bivacco, hospitality maestro Izzard Design has worked its trademark transformative magic. Amanda Harkness checks out the performance.

It seems a tall order – to convert what was essentially a waterfront ‘refrigerated shed’ into a bustling, sophisticated Italian destination. “How do you get to Tuscany from a fridge?” as designer Paul Izzard so succinctly puts it.

Bivacco’s deep-green-stained oak corner bar offers passers-by the opportunity to pop in for a casual aperitivo. Image:  Jono Parker

Client Savor Group’s offering falls into two fairly distinct camps: Asian and Italian, with Azabu, Ebisu, Oji Sushi and others alongside Non Solo Pizza, MoVida, Bar Non Solo, Amano and more.

With newcomer Bivacco, the plan was to celebrate the viaduct and Auckland’s waterfront in the most social way, bridging the gaps between drinking and eating, and inside and out, with the help of aperitivo and alfresco.

The brief, explains Izzard, was to create a venue that is fun, vibrant and endlessly shareable: a place for everyone, serving uncomplicated food at one of the best waterfront positions in the city.

The team essentially designed and built a secondary shell within the existing insulation-lined building, layering it with rich materials, such as smoked timber, travertine stone and marble, and jewel tones to highlight the distinctly Italian experience.

Elegant tan-leather booth seating is flanked by an open kitchen on one side and casual dining on the other. Image:  Jono Parker

Tan leather booth seating surrounds an open kitchen, with sculptural, arched apertures positioned to bring back-of-house to front-of-house and include the customer in the cooking experience.

“We had to sacrifice some tables to open up the space and bring that operational area to the fore,” Izzard points out, “to create some theatre and to entertain.”

A large verandah connects diners with the hustle bustle of Auckland’s waterfront. Image:  Jono Parker

Enclosing the verandah area (previously a deck) and draping soft linen from its ceiling has maximised the potential of the space for year-round use, while also taking full advantage of the view to the waterfront. This more casual seating area is anchored by a corner bar, locally crafted from deep-green stained oak, and the space spills down onto the surrounding Viaduct Harbour boardwalk.

Bivacco can accommodate up to 300 guests, weather permitting, and, judging by the forward bookings over summer, it’s proving to be a great success for Savor.

www.izzard.co.nz

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