Naval officer Gabriel De Clieu is royalty in the coffee world, having introduced the potent bean to the French colonies in the Western Hemisphere in the early 18th century. Paying homage to his endeavour and the drinking rituals it has engendered, Gabriel restaurant, in Melbourne’s cosmopolitan Gertrude Street, rocks the sass of inner city café culture with the flair of period dramas thanks to Melbourne-based designer David Flack.
‘I imagined De Clieu enjoying a coffee in Milan in the 1950’s and a Parisian café surrounded by French arts and crafts furniture,’ enthuses Flack. Cue the service counter’s richly veined emerald and burgundy marble plus terracotta leather banquettes, and the customised ‘serpentine’ motif on the American Oak joinery referencing Parisian designer Jean Royère’s work. But comparisons stop there.
Flack’s precious anarchy is realised through mash-ups of design styles and pigment politics. The counter’s sharply contoured modulations and etched brass bass recalls Memphis Group designs, whilst intricate dentil joinery details linking the rectangular space adds an ancient imperial flourish. Punchy pastels including speckled lemonade pink granite mingle with tonally dense marble tabletops, customised Thonet chairs are softened with lavender cushions and pistachio green stripes add a minted finish to the ceiling. ‘It’s good to throw a few curve balls into the mix and create some tension amongst the materials and colours,’ adds Flack.
Hand-troweled plaster walls and scuffed concrete floors give the café a settled patina, whilst giant sash windows and the abstract painting dominating the rear wall, link it to the graffitied streets. The neon crown affixed to its surface nods to Fitzroy’s status as Melbourne’s food and coffee mecca with a playful air. Inclusion of a black and white striped Shogun lamp – a ‘trophy’ placed in all Flack’s residential and commercial projects – is a throwback to his philosophies of design, ‘a little ugly, punchy, graphic, questionable and damn sexy,’ he quips.
Gabriel’s all day breakfast and lunch menu grants classics a contemporary spin: BLT’s are infused with jalapeño cream cheese and onion jam, whilst fruit salads comprise poached rhubarb, balls of strawberry sorbet a lightly spiced gingerbread served with orange crème anglaise. But it’s the coffee alone that keeps regulars returning.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
187 Gertrude Street
-
Formafantasma’s biodiversity-boosting installation in a Perrier Jouët vineyard is cross-pollination at its bestFormafantasma and Perrier Jouët unveil the first project in their ‘Cohabitare’ initiative, ‘not only a work of art but also a contribution to the ecosystem’
-
Gingerbread City: architects sculpt London out of the season's favourite treatUntil December 29 in Chelsea, see London brought to life in a seasonal-appropriate medium by leading architects and designers
-
New Revox B77 MK III reel-to-reel tape recorder, and more cassette tape-based trickeryThe new Revox B77 MK III might be the ultimate analogue flex. In response, we’ve explored the outer reaches of cassette tape design
-
The world’s most enticing new hotel openingsExplore the best new hotels in the world, from beachfront living at Cheval Blanc Seychelles to otherworldly Zaha Hadid architecture at Me Malta
-
Australian surf culture merges with the charm of the Mediterranean at Il DelfinoIl Delfino, designed by Sheree Commerford, is a restored 1940s seaside inn nestled on the Yamba coastline in Australia
-
Layover in style at Melbourne Airport’s new hotelIbis Styles Melbourne Airport hotel by FK brings together elegant rooms, co-working lounges and leisure facilities in a striking aircraft wing-inspired design
-
Australian heritage meets European grandeur at Copperstone, a New South Wales retreatCopperstone is New South Wales’ answer to the European country estate, and includes a five-bedroom retreat, set in 48 acres
-
Tap into local creativity at The StandardX, MelbourneThe StandardX, Melbourne is the first hotel in The Standard Group's new breed of ‘younger and rebellious’ properties
-
Basq House is the eclectic-cool stay to know in Byron BayDesigned by StudioFAB and Léo Terrando, Basq House reverberates with the Australian town’s laid-back beach culture and artistic spirit
-
Discover Beau Sydney, an intimate two-part restaurant enlivening the city’s lanewaysBeau Sydney dishes up contemporary Australian cuisine, from baked goods to regional wines, amid elegant interiors by Smart Design Studio
-
Inside The Ghan train across Australia, new carriage interiors elevate a classic tripThe Ghan’s new carriage interiors designed by Woods Bagot reimagine modern rail travel for this epic trip between Darwin and Adelaide
