Specialist mozzarella restaurant and bar, located in an 18th century building in Rome’s historic city centre.

The very first branch of Obika’s worldwide chain of restaurants promoting artisanal Italian foods, this bar on Piazza di Firenze in Rome has been designed in close collaboration with the client to enable a seamless transition between daytime eating place and classic Italian bar in the evenings.
Due to the highly sensitive nature of the listed building, the original layout was not altered, so the sequence of spaces has been used to define varying activities, from lounge through to restaurant and bar, as well as back-of-house space.
Dark wood and black resin wall panels define the space, overlapping with the crisp white surfaces of the existing building, while glassy floor surfaces and a waxed steel ceiling create a lighter foil for a series of glass display cases for key ingredients. These contemporary elements contrast with the typical interior features of Roman buildings, such as the arches in the back room of the restaurant.