Located within a downtown highrise in Montreal, minnibar is a non-traditional pizza restaurant by Tongue Bui. Named in reference to hotel minibars, the eatery is conceived as handy offerings to have throughout the day, from a cafe in the morning to sandwiches (like chicken katsu or Cubano) for lunch and pizza omakase for fancier evenings. Ivy Studio unites the program across 525 square feet (160 square meters), all of which cohere through distinct color and geometry.
Nearly square in plan, the site uses an enclosed central core, which houses the kitchen, bar, cafe counter, and pizza counter, to create navigation. Guests enter into the cafe-side, where coffee is served atop cream-colored stone. As the counter extends around the core, the space shifts into its dinner program. The counter becomes white-oak, designating the pizza omakase counter.
Two fully glazed facades shine light onto the raw shell of the building, which the architects opted to expose. Ivy Studio, one of AN Interior’s Top 50 designer and architects, opts to reveal HVAC ducts and conduits alongside the concrete floors, columns, and ceilings.
The industrial elements are nestled within precise and elevated furnishings and finishes. The designers kept to a strict color palette—off-white, gray, and touches of black—to cohere the space together. Clean lines also help establish order, from the cafe counter grounded with an angled stainless steel footrest block to the black-stained counter that lines the street-facing glazing. The latter is paired with industrial gray stools from New Tendency, whose metal beams continue the linearity of the design.
Beyond the cafe, the design balances its rational geometry with some subtle surprises. The turn from cafe to dining is marked by a bespoke DJ set made in collaboration with local shop Procedures Industries. The stainless steel set up is defined by angled planes and a base whose panels curve ever-so-slightly to meet the ground.
The dining room features custom black-stained tables with triangular bases. The center table proves an exception to the rule with an octagonal design. The tables are surrounded by custom chairs designed by Ivy Studio, the office’s first in-house chair. Made from hard ashwood and stained with a bespoke opaque soft yellow, the dining chairs rest on heavy legs with a slight curve. They rise to meet a seat and backrest whose rounded shape offers the chair a subtly playful side.
A custom light fixture featuring three tiers of triangles wrap columns and walls, continuing the geometric motif. Meanwhile, a wrap-around dropped structure made of white-stained wooden rods and backlit rice paper creates grids that unfold alongside the counters. In the bathroom, there’s deviation in the form of semi-circle sconces from RBW, affixed to plastered walls.
Just as minnibar successfully coheres a menu of assorted cultures and cuisines, Ivy Studio harmonizes its design, balancing a gritty shell with elegant interior. The resulting space is minimal yet never slight.
