Meat and Wine Bella Vista

Storytelling in Restaurants

All Meat & Wine stores take their inspiration from Africa, whilst staying grounded within each site’s unique Australian surroundings. Each design draws inspiration from the various cultures, traditional architecture and expressive pattern making. There is a concept widely known as the spirit of Ubuntu - giving and sharing - and this is something that we aim to embody in the each store. 

In African cultures, these shared events were used as a way for the elders to teach important life lessons, entertain and invite people to participate in a significant moment. Every successful restaurant, similarly, are spaces used to socialise, tell fascinating stories and entertain the people that come to them.

Story telling in many traditional African cultures happens at night, around a fire under the open sky and often in an enclosure. Each Meat & Wine has a different interpretation of this enclosure often referred to as a Lapa, Boma or the homestead.

The long narrow envelope for this site is surrounded by glass on 2 sides and a reasonably wide open footprint in front of the restaurant over looking the lake at Bella Vista. The solution for this location was to create a Boma interpretation to wrap around the sides of the interior space to give the customers the feeling of sitting inside a homestead. 

This is where the inspiration of "Isibaya" a Zulu word used for homestead came from for the project. The interpretation in this case is formed by the inward facing bench seat that is held on either side of the restaurant with a golden and copper patterned breeze block wall, make the walls of the boma. 

The golden and copper crown wall is formed by a series of bespoke breeze blocks which have been laid in a unique pattern mimicking a African pattern. The various shades of gold and copper metallic paints used to finish off the block work is used to reflect both the richness of the African soil and the abundance of minerals which comes from the land. This is further enhanced by the washing of warm ambient lighting  in front of the wall and just behind it, turning it into a subtle yet the silent design hero within the design.

As humans we are drawn to being part of a bigger, dream, story and narration. Allowing us to live in a moment of time. There is a sense of African nostalgia and belonging which the golden richness the interior walls, lighting and golden textured walls have created and brought to the lake front.

Every golden block and knotted rope piece is like a single moment, however when many singular moments are brought together, they create a larger “tapestry”.  A Tapestry that is able tell a full rich, deep story with many layers and facets along the way. This is how we bring meaning to a space through story telling.