Blue is a new wine bar from the team formerly behind the cult Roses Dining Room on Karangahape Road in Tāmaki Makaurau. It sits in a charming space in Ponsonby that has been a number of beloved cafes over the years. “We are big believers that you shouldn’t start a business unless you are doing it for the love of it,” says co-owner Ophelia Bayly, “and because you are contributing something positive to the ecology of your city.”

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Here: Tell us a bit about Blue – what do you do and why do you do it?

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Ophelia Bayly: Why not? I guess we wanted to create somewhere where we would want to go. Mostly, I think we do it because we get to be with, and do it with, each other. Work takes up a lot of life, so you may as well be doing it with people you adore.

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H: You weren’t looking for a new space. What changed?

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OB: My partner Karl fell in love with the site years ago. He used to frequent it when our daughter was newly born to give me a break. He always used to come home from his walk saying, “If that site ever comes up...” Also, we changed. Blue is a bigger partnership than Roses. There’s Karl and me, plus Joe Dale-Dickson, Katie Riley and Eve Armstrong-Coop. That foundation of trust and friendship and skill felt integral. Blue as a site has lived many lives and its various iterations have often been backdrop to the different chapters of our lives, so it felt quite full circle.

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H: Tell us a bit about the fitout.

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OB: I didn’t want it to feel like too much of a fitout. We wanted it to feel comfortable in the way that a home does, without being “homely” – unfussy and lived in, but still beautiful. A lot of the work was stripping back all the additions it had accumulated over the years to reveal its heritage, which was mostly totally concealed when we took the space. One of my favourite things our interior architect Sam Boanas suggested was to treat the front and back rooms totally differently – it brings out the unique character of each. There are various antique pieces throughout the space and I really think that not having everything new and too matchy-matchy gives authentic character to the feeling of the space.

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H: Great space, with some great heritage. How did you want it to feel?

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OB: It needed to work across day and night, which is a real challenge. In the daytime, the front room has beautiful beams of sun pouring through the big front window – or the fire is on. The courtyard has people reading, dogs, creeping greenery. The blue room at the back has big shared tables, fresh flowers, maybe some people in for a meeting over lunch, someone on a laptop, and kids playing with blocks on the floor. By night, the front room is a bustly, intimate wine bar, the courtyard is pocketed with dates and catch-ups, and the blue room morphs into the perfect space for bigger group drinks, dinner or both – and everywhere twinkles alight with candles.

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H: What’s on the menu?

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OB: During the day, there’s a gorgeous rice pudding and simple seasonal yummy bits on toast (labneh, persimmon, jalapeño, fried curry leaves), a good brunchy salad, and the blue plate – a daytime grazing platter. Come night, we switch into more classic wine-bar fare, but with some fun moments like the Kiwi onion chips and dip with roe. There’s enough on there to have a proper dinner, but there’s no pressure to do so, which is my favourite way to go out. Wine-wise, it’s changing almost weekly, which keeps it fresh and fun, and means we all get to try all sorts of things! We try and source everything – whether it’s food or drink – through our friends and as many local suppliers as possible.

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