Bar Centrale

An Italian Atmosphere of Inclusion AT BAR CENTRALE

WORDS LIZ FRENCH | IMAGES ERIN CAVE

For an experience straight out of a piazza in any bustling Italian city, simply head to Bar Centrale in Tauranga.

An elderly gentleman sits in the courtyard lingering over an espresso and courting conversation. Young mothers with babies in prams chatter happily over pizza at an outdoor table. A family enjoy a holiday meal together in the bar while a group of ‘women of a certain age’ giggle over prosecco and sharing plates.

I was one of those certain age women having a very happy time sampling the Bar Centrale menu, explained in great detail to us by our attentive waiter, Filippo. He told us that many of the staff at Bar Centrale are Italian, including head bartender Marco and two chefs. Under Filippo’s tutelage we had a couple of pizzas and several sharing plates followed by tiramisu and panna cotta to sweeten us up for the afternoon. Even the most discerning in our group agreed that everything was perfect. And, best of all, it was really fun.

The Italians are very inclusive in their social lives. It’s all about family and friends and relishing the opportunity to gather over a drink and a meal. There’s no one better to create this atmosphere in Clarence Hotel and Bistro than the Italian owner, Noel Cimadom and his wife Kim who is from Cambridge but exudes a European aura of relaxed chic. Noel hails from the village of Bressanone in the Dolomites in Northern Italy. The couple met in Germany before coming to NZ where they established the very popular Alpino in Cambridge before taking on the ambitious project of transforming the old Tauranga Post Office into Clarence Hotel and Bistro. They now live in Tauranga, and Noel’s parents have since followed him to NZ. “They couldn’t be far from the family,” he laughs.

Noel and Kim explained that Bar Centrale evolved from their desire to give Clarence patrons that Italian sense of inclusion, to make everyone feel comfortable, whether a businessperson grabbing a coffee and croissant for breakfast, friends meeting for lunch, enjoying a family meal or simply celebrating socially with a cocktail, a craft beer or a vino from the extensive wine list.

A massive pizza oven, imported from Italy, commands the kitchen which you can see clearly at the end of the bar. To install it, part of a wall had to be chiselled off and is now absorbed in the exposed distressed walls that evoke old Italian buildings. Green marble lines door frames and vintage French lights cast their glow. The old Tauranga Post Office’s architectural features embrace this eclectic vibe and you sense it loves its new life. The building may seem imposing from its elevation above Willow Street but there is nothing but warmth and welcome inside. The long courtyard of outdoor tables comes into its own on sunny days and long summer evenings.

Bar Centrale successfully bridges bar and cafe/restaurant, blends elegance and sophistication with relaxed unpretentiousness. In the mornings, coffee is king; later in the day it is more about eating with a little imbibing on the side. Come Friday nights, the bar is busy with the after-work crowd. It is becoming the ‘go-to’ for a cocktail thanks to Marco’s Italian inspired range.

Italian casualness and Italian deliciousness were the aims in establishing Bar Centrale. It scored highly from me on both counts. A couple of us ‘ladies who lunched’ liked it so much we took our partners for pizzas two days later. I’ve since met a friend there for morning coffee. Bar Centrale is in danger of becoming my local. And that is exactly what was intended in introducing this slice of Italy to the Tauranga hospitality scene.

Bar Centrale 51 Willow Street, Tauranga, NZ www.barcentrale.co.nz

ROTORUA 1131 Amohau Street, Rotorua • 07 346 0081 TAURANGA 111 Third Avenue, Tauranga • 07 579 9111 vetro.co.nz

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