Osteria del Toro

We went out on Thursday night as a celebration. This restaurant is on Tory street in Wellington City.

The service, ambience and food were incredible. I’d go back for that alone.

BUT – the interior – oh what fun! As usual my restaurant photos are completely poor quality – I won’t use a flash in a restaurant.

Osetria del Toro is housed in this crazy zebra painted building. Makes it really easy to locate.	Very elegant entrance that gives little away in terms of what comes next.	This is in the entrance way – shelves of wine bottles behind ornate gates. The gate motif runs through the entire restaurant.
	We started in the bar for a drink. I didn’t get a shot of the bar chairs unfortunately, but a great example of modern in amongst the med themed setting. The bar chairs were white leather seats and backs with a cube look (there is a peek of one in the bottom right of the photo). Incredibly sleek and stylish though and they blended perfectly.
The lighting! amazing embellished  pendant lights in the bar (and same style in the toilets which was nifty).	These looked like umbrellas to me and even a bit Oriental? The ceiling was covered in a textured paper I would guess. But had the look of millions of tiny mosaic tiles creating the pattern. Oversized sculpted cornices continued the perfectly OTT decor.	Tiebacks and tassels focusing your attention on the wall lights.
Even the table legs were detailed! The floor was tiled with some tiles incorporating a white pattern.	This is a view from the restaurant into the bar. A bulkhead of wood and light panels brings the veiling down in the bar making in more intimate and brining in some modern.	A water feature in a restaurant! the tap above the sculpture is where jugs of water for the patrons were filled up.
Details details details. In little corners were little treasures.	This is the glass door separating the entrance walkway and the restaurant. Notice the shape of the gate motif that has been sandblasted on the glass? Nice touch also used in the windows in the restaurant. The door handle was a great big solid chunk of metal with detailed engravings.	Some more of the details completing the look.

Zibibbo Restaurant

For my birthday Ryan took me to Zibobbo (you can see more about them here: http://www.zibibbo.co.nz/)

They have a bar downstairs and restaurant upstairs. It’s all very warm and welcoming while still looking fresh and clean.

The photos are a bit dismal – I didn’t want to use the flash and blind the patrons all round. But hopefully you get the idea.

The walls were painted orange, green and brown with some walls in wood cladding. Sounds horrific – but it all worked somehow.

Green on the two ends, orange on one long side and brown on the other long side. I think maybe it works because there is very little wall area – most of the wall being taken up by windows or art or backs of the booth seating.

The lighting included some cool pleated linen tube pendants and some box lights.

The majority of the art on the walls was for sale.

 

Leather booth seating along one side.	Linen pleated tube lamp.	Looking around the corner, there is a very nifty piece of art – black background with white line figures. Cool box lamp
	The food was pretty fine. They have a tapas starter platter and a dessert platter for 2 so that sorted out two of the courses. The dessert platter arrived with a flourish – cute egg dish is a mango mouse with mango coulis on top. Cut pastry ‘soldiers’ on the sides.

Matterhorn -restaurant

Friday night (23Jan) we went out to supper at ‘Matterhorn’. This is on Cuba street which is a vibey buzzy part of wellington with lots of bars and restaurants and general entertainment. Ryan and I met with Kahu (HP contractor working with Ryan) and his wife Tina. We had a fantastic time and wonderful food. Tina and I ordered a fish dish. This was delicate, just just cooked, light and creamy fish wrapped in a leek leaf. Served with a bouillabaisse and seared scallops and some other bits I can’t remember. Ryan had a venison dish and Kahu had a lamb dish. Their web site is here: www.matterhorn.co.nz.

The decor was pretty funky. Wood clad ceilings (luckily very high), rough cement coated walls, concrete floors, lots of metal and wood frames and pillars, and lots of glass. Gave the place a very clean and crisp look. The tables were clear wooden surfaces (no tablecloths or placements) in keeping with the clean look. The serviceware was a little boring – just plain white bowls and plates, but that worked within the overall simplified look I suppose. A wooden bar counter and bar space was set behind a cement plastered wall with long vertical rectangles cut out of it at intervals. This kept the bar private but still part of the space. Nifty feature was a ‘mexican man’ (that’s what I saw anyway) emblem subtly incorporated on the glass, vases and front entrance. Tables were set up with black leather benches and chairs.

 

 

The bar. (this pic from texture.co.nz)

 

The restaurant. (this pic from smh.com.au)

Cafe 1999

2 views of the interior of Cafe 1999 (Durban)



Clean and crisp white wall paper with a floral pattern that is picked up in the light. The mirrors have faux crocodile leather frames.

The opposite wall has a soft lime green, the wall light is functional and aesthetic. Use of mirror again to refelect the light and make the space feel bigger.

Could be a more cohesive look, seems a bit unfinished and random in places.

Really funky feature - a big blackbard mounted on a wall on your way to the loos. The guests are encouraged to draw and writes notes.