Italian chic meets Canberra cool
The spring blossoms are out in Canberra and there’s plenty to celebrate on the culture and art beat.
The spring blossoms are out in Canberra and there’s plenty to celebrate on the culture and art beat. Design Canberra Festival is in its seventh year, kicking off for three weeks from November 9, with exhibitions, tours, studio visits and open homes. And while Floriade has been curtailed, there’s an abundance of colour at play around the city, at freshly planted parks and gardens and, not least of all, in the rejuvenated lobby of East Hotel. This 140-room boutique property, launched in 2012, neatly fits the mould of a “design hotel”, with an emphasis on interior decor, harmonious spaces and stylish trimmings. Run with hands-on care by a family of Italian heritage, there’s an open-armed, personalised welcome, equivalent to the typical guest experience at a much smaller inn. And although the restaurants and cafes of Kingston and Manuka are within strolling distance, the temptation to drink and dine on site is irresistible.
But back to that lobby, a central atrium with a midnight sky-style black ceiling, where Kelly Ross and her design team have clearly had a ball with the hotel equivalent of a “welcome mat”, that all-important determiner of first impressions. She describes the revamped effect as “intimate and conversational” and there’s an almost conspiratorial moodiness to the space’s various enclaves, the combo of natural light and myriad lamps, and the plushness of textiles in shades such as plum and teal against a monochrome background. The reception desk’s leather cladding has been based on a Parisian handbag pattern, so there’s no shortage of whimsy afoot, but not at the expense of practicality as an open fire takes care of rugged Canberra winters and gives the further feel of a big family living room.
And like any proper parlour, dining should be close to hand. So, there’s cosy little Joe’s Bar, named for the Bisa family patriarch, where cocktails and small plates rule, and Agostinis, a large trattoria overseen by ebullient Rome-born executive chef Francesco Balestrieri. Both venues can be entered directly from the lobby as well as streetside, along with Muse cafe and bookshop, where starting the day with smashed avo on toast amid shelves of recipe and interior design tomes is a bright and busy affair. At the hotel entrance, bikes are lined up for guest use; the concierge team, whether live or virtual, is full of insider knowledge and good ideas.
So the lobby becomes a kind of village square, an Italian piazza in fact, opening to cafe, bar, restaurant, with accommodation above, including suites with furnished balconies that feel at least as large and liveable as those in any inner-city apartment block. “You had me at pizza” declares the lolly-pink neon sign on the hotel side of Agostinis where the (paler) pink-covered spring menu has just been introduced. Serves of smoked burrata with a salad of radicchio, olives and orange segments are flying off the pass. The state-of-the-art pizza oven, which handles 14 at a time, is at full fire, and the fried zucchini flowers stuffed with lemon ricotta and served with basil and pistachio pesto are so more-ish that seconds are ordered at our table. “No worries, prego!” laughs Italian waitress Clara as she passes in a bustling blur. Do we have space for a dessert? Dolci? Si si, here comes cannoli alla cassata and a side of lemon gelato.
The restaurant design is another Kelly Ross fiesta of colour, taking its cue from Bisa family matriarch Marisa, whose maiden name was Agostini. A large pink-hued retro mural is based on a black-and-white photograph of a bar owned by Marisa’s grandparents back in the old country. A ceiling installation of hanging ropes represents handmade pasta hung to dry. “It’s Kelly’s special spaghetti,” quips East Hotel co-owner and brand director, Dion Bisa, who adds that her favourite Agostinis dish is frico from Italy’s Friuli region. It’s an oven-roasted, crunchy, gooey pancake filled with thin layers of Montasio cheese and potato. “Basically a peasant dish,” explains Dion. “If Mum is making it, the whole Bisa family turns up for dinner.”
“See you again!” says Clara. “Come back for frico!” Presto! We return the following night.
