Alimento Italiano – Grana by Ewert Leaf

Attached to Figlia, the new pizza offering on Brunswick’s Lygon Street and from the team behind Tipo OO, Grana is a thoughtfully designed take on the neighbourhood deli. Designed by Ewert Leaf, the atmosphere is cosy and welcoming while the exposed brickwork and original concrete flooring pay tribute to its humble setting in Melbourne’s inner north.

Not satisfied to merely dispense delicious, imported produce, Grana makes its own cheese and charcuterie, which are available to sit and enjoy with a glass of wine or to be wrapped up to take home, as well as being used to top the pizzas served next door. Les fromages are matured in glass fridges along the wall that are temperature con-trolled for cheese, red wine varietals and white wine. The fridges are backed in reeded glass looking through to the restaurant, a subtle hint at the lively festivities occurring beyond this cosily quiet nook while also blurring the distinction between the two venues.

The space opens up as you enter, inviting you to roam and explore, invoking all the charm of the Italian neighbourhood delicatessens of old.

The atmosphere is unpretentious and approachable; there is no stern maître d’, no imposing counter. Rather, the space opens up as you enter, inviting you to roam and explore, invoking all the charm of the Italian neighbourhood delicatessens of old. The team’s other hospitality offerings, such as Osteria Ilaria and Tipo 00, have become destinations in the Melbourne food scene, thus the aim of the design was to ensure all are welcome, “like opening one’s home,” describes Ana Calic, Director at Ewert Leaf. Select an exotic bottle of wine off the shelf, pull up a stool and have a chat with someone about it. Grana creates the kind of carefree neighbourly space where one can explore and learn in a fun and welcoming environment.

The design, while impeccable in its thoughtful harmony of colour and texture, is intended for function over awe. The brief was not for refinement but a rustic ambience – for the space to grow and wear with use, to become lived-in. The pair of venues, Figlia and Grana, rep-resent the first venture with a designer for the Tipo 00 team, and so Ewert Leaf workshopped with the staff to tease out how they would use the space. “Getting to know how they worked really informed the outcome,” describes Ana. The other challenge was that this not a typical hospitality team; part of their appeal is that their food is experimental, but in an honestly heuristic, not flamboyantly gastronomic, way.

This approach means the space is an open canvas, capable of responding to whatever comes next, whether it be a new recipe, a party or a delivery of two dozen boxes of wine. The key is that the fundamentals are built into the structure. The spaces are generous, and important tools such as the scales are set into the counter, which is custom-made of individually selected end-grain timbers, replicating an enormous butcher’s block. Function is primary in ensuring the design meets the needs of the team, but the result is not haphazard – each element is considered with attention to detail. The custom-laminated butcher’s block counter is exactly two pieces deep, to ensure perfect continuity, and the communal table is proportioned to ensure not a single Tiento Zellige handmade tile had to be cut.

Grana creates the kind of carefree neighbourly space where one can explore and learn in a fun and welcoming environment.

The space is also very tactile; no surface is a wasted opportunity for textural engagement, from the white-washed bricks, finished by Scanlan and Makers, to the recycled paper ceiling, which balances acoustics. Durability is the final consideration: the joinery in American oak veneer is coated in an olive green two pack, which extends throughout, from drawers to fridges. The shelves also needed to be hardwearing, thus blackened steel was chosen, its distinct dark form punctuating the otherwise tonal motif.

Grana represents a charmingly modern take on the traditional. Honest, durable materials are given the opportunity to wear and evolve. Step inside for a glass of wine while waiting for a table at Figlia, or select a cheese, wine or other tasty morsel served next door to enjoy at home. Less is more in Ewert Leaf’s design, with the focus instead on the function of the space, showing that good design doesn’t need to be ground-breaking – it works best when it is allowed to follow its purpose.