When Di Maggio’s bosses Mario Gizzi and Tony Conetta decided to retire L’Ariosto in Glasgow and re-open it as Barolo Grill, they knew they’d encounter some resistance. The well loved Italian restaurant had been part of the brickwork on Mitchell Street for generations, attracting many devotees along the way.
Operations manager Chris Finnieston explains, “L’Ariosto was well known for its dinner dances, which ran for years. But we are not running them at Barolo. Some of the regulars are feeling a bit lost, so they took a bit of warming to the idea of Barolo, but now everybody can’t help but be bowled over by what we’ve done.”
The £500K refurbishment, which was designed by Iain McLeod at Studio Mac Design, has totally changed the restaurant, but really only the bar has moved. The designers have worked wonders with the odd shape of the place, and replaced its gloomy interior with a much airier, but still cosy, feel. This has been achieved through a mixture of ceiling lights, a mural, a mirror and rich colours and tones. Structural changes have been minor, apart from the bar which has moved, the male and female toilets have also been switched, to make the latter bigger, which makes more sense.
There are still a few familiar items from L’Ariosto, most notably the silver fronted fridges – a real classic design – and the huge mirror. It used to hang behind the bar, but after a buff up, it now hangs in the restaurant.
There are a few other constants too in the new design, but the floor is not one of them. Instead of carpet the entire floor features cream terrazzo tiles throughout. The walls are a combination of exposed brick and various stylish wall coverings in browns and copper/burnt orange tones, and the lighting is as miscellaneous.
The bar is now on the left as you enter. It’s a classic design with grey marble top, and plain cherry oak wooden back bar made up of wine racks. Above the bar are some fantastic lamp shades, which are thin cone shapes, made from a plastic that has been moulded to look like honeycomb. All the components here mesh together exceptionally well.
Back to the entrance, and immediately to the right is a seating area incorporating booths where the bar used to be. The booths have been upholstered in squidgy brown leather, there is exposed brick cladding on the wall and, again, some talking point lighting. It’s essentially a black see-through material draped over a frame, and wouldn’t look out of place at a séance. Chris explained that these lights have split opinion, and that they are still undecided on whether they will remain a permanent fixture. They are one of four lighting designs and, I have to say, I think that they look smart. This area houses an equally stylish mirror along the wall opposite the window. It’s a mosaic of lots of different shaped mirrors fused together as one, across the entirety of the wall opposite the window. And this is the only area that benefits from any natural light.
At the bar, and just beyond, remains narrow, as right opposite are the toilets, before it opens out into the main area of the restaurant – with booths along either side. On top of what separates each booth from the next is an ornately-etched rectangle of glass, lit from within, and these really come into their own in the evening. Above the booths hangs lighting design number three. Black chandeliers, some with mini-shades over candle-shaped bulbs, and further into Barolo, there’s a variation on the same theme, although this time they’re encased in a white cylindrical shade. Again, the jury’s still out on whether or not to make them all one way or the other. Personally, I’m all for diversity, and think the contrasting designs look great.
Then we’re at the heart of restaurant which also boasts a central island area of banquette seating, with the same illuminated partitions and brown leather upholstery. And the ceiling has painted glass recesses with lights behind them. These can be dimmed or brightened according to the time of day.
Right at the very end of this area is a wood-burning pizza oven, which certainly adds a dramatic kick to Barolo, and the flames are noticeable as soon as you’re in the door. Explains Chris, “It had to be a certain height because we wanted the flames to be visible from the doorway and it always attracts positive comments from customers.”
Along the wall to the right is a giant mural of Barolo Castle and the pretty wine village of Piedmont, in sympathetic burnt orange and copper tones. A photographer was also dispatched to this picturesque part of Italy, and his work is on display all over the restaurant in the form of black and white framed photos.
Beyond here, right at the back, is the area where the L’Ariosto tea dances used to take place. This area can now stand alone for private dining or corporate functions, as it has plasma screens and a surround-sound system, or it can simply be annexed by the restaurant. It‘s design is characterised by some interesting cream wallpaper with a ribbon design, all very tastefully done. There are also illuminated wine racks embedded in the back wall, which is panelled in darkish wood.
And, as always, I popped my head into the facilities to finish, but they were in darkness. In his eagerness to display the dimmed ceiling lights, Chris had knocked out the loo lights by mistake. But at the flick of a switch, all was remedied, and the loos were as immaculate as elsewhere, with a plain classic cream tile and wood interior.
With Amarone in Edinburgh opening at roughly the same time, Mario and Tony have had a lot of plates in the air recently. But no corners were cut with this design, there’s nothing rushed about it either. The design is thoughtful, stylish and quite ingenious in places.
Barolo Grill, Glasgow – Design Focus
