Design-led dining spots to visit this May – from a fire station-turned-ale house in Auckland to Marseille’s latest retro-futurist opening
As warmer weather welcomes us back outdoors, here are our picks of where to dine this month. Need to cool down? Pick up a zingy beverage from the shores of Lake Garda.
Grey Lynn Firehouse
Auckland
After seeing the resurgence of pub culture in Melbourne and spending seven years working in east London, Luke Jones was confident that his new watering hole would appeal to Aucklanders. Perched between Ponsonby and Grey Lynn, the terracotta-brick ale house, set inside an 1880s former fire station, is something of an anomaly in a neighbourhood best known for its timber-framed vernacular.
Designed by the Kiwi-Japanese Studio Tatami, the British-inspired gastropub’s 40-cover dining space features original fireplaces and timber floors paired with mid-century furnishings and a burgundy panelled ceiling. More inviting still is the menu. Head chef Kereru Wilson – formerly of Auckland hotspots Depot and Cazador – elevates Antipodean classics while weaving in his Maori heritage.
There’s a snack-sized sando filled with deliciously creamy tuatua clams that comes with a schooner of Guinness, while the standout “Hockhetta” (a take on Italian porchetta that uses braised ham hock instead of roast pork belly) arrives with a fresh pea salad, apple sauce and a dollop of house mustard. Try the Firehouse lager or one of a wide variety of Kiwi wines – it’s safe to say that Jones knows his audience.
greylynnfirehouse.co.nz
Café Tempo
Tallin
Kenneth Karjane poured his experience founding Tallinn institutions Barbarea and bakery Karjase Sai into his new venture. In a former industrial storage depot in Telliskivi – Tallinn’s current food-and-drink hotspot – Café Tempo doubles as a café and bakery in the morning and a eastern Mediterranean grill in the evening. The menu might include the likes of charcoal-grilled Adana kebab and socca (a niçoise pancake) with pumpkin satay and chicken thighs in a brown-butter sauce. Mop it up with slabs of barbari, a fluffy Iranian flatbread.
cafetempo.ee
Dévo
Marseille
“There isn’t one Marseille but several,” says Nîmes-born, Marseille-based designer Axel Chay. “As a port that’s been open to the Mediterranean and the world for more than 2,000 years, things are in constant movement.” This motion gave inspiration to Chay and his art-director wife, Mélissa, for the interiors of their first restaurant, Dévo. Think 1970s retro-futurism – lacquered surfaces, wood-panelled walls and custom stainless-steel furniture. Chef Ferdinand Fravega blends staples from his native Provence with Spanish influences and Italian aperitivo culture.
devomarseille.com
Tassoni tonics
Salò
Cedral Tassoni started as an apothecary in Salò on the banks of Lake Garda, making medicinal citrus essences from local fruit. The company has produced syrupy sparkling beverage cedrata from Diamante Calabrian lemons since 1921.
Popularised by 1970s television adverts featuring Italian singer Mina, Tassoni built its name as a brand that is tasty and trusted. Posters of the 1930s pictured a family tasting Tassoni’s tonics with the message “È buona e fa bene” (“It tastes good and it does good”). It’s produced in Salò to this day.
cedraltassoni.it
