“This used to be a storage room,” says chef Alex Davies, standing in the middle of his newly opened Kisi bar. “But I always really liked the space; it had such a great feeling. So when the landlord offered me the lease, I knew I had to take it, and I knew what I wanted to do with it.”

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Tucked out the back of Davies’ lauded Gatherings restaurant on Papanui Road, Kisi has everything you want from   a bar: a casual feel, a decent snack menu, a relaxed setting and a drinks list that stretches from a $10 house white to a $250 bottle of bubbles.

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It’s intimate – 14 seats inside, plus outdoor overflow – perfectly in step with the atmosphere Davies has created next door. “I see so much value in a smaller space and that limited experience. It means we can really cater to the individual needs of people,” says the chef.  

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He’s taken a light-handed approach to the design, embracing the interior’s existing character. “I wanted to kind of show the age of the building, I didn’t want to hide from that, because Christchurch has lost a lot of its older spaces. I wanted you to feel that history,” Davies explains. There’s red brick, concrete and plenty of natural light thanks to bifolding doors across the face of the bar. The whole thing is comfortable and familiar, with recycled or repurposed materials shaping much of the fitout.

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The mosaic on the bar is made with bottles from the restaurant and topped with salvaged marble; the building’s old wooden door has been repurposed in the ceiling; and the furniture, handcrafted by artist-builder-maker Tim McGurk, is made from upcycled timbers. “It’s just the same as my approach towards how I cook,” says the chef. “It’s intimate, it’s minimal.” And, like his food, it’s destined to garner an appreciative audience.

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Kisi

5/2 Papanui Road, Ōtautahi Christchurch

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