Foodies Heaven

Ambarella Fine Foods is a veritable oasis of farm fresh, wholesome healthy foods and delicacies including escargot, dolmades, pickled artichoke hearts, and delicious freshly baked French sticks. It has been designed with the feel of a French Provincial market place with black and charcoal striped awnings over fruit and vegetable stands reminiscent of an open farmer’s market you would expect to see with a Mediterranean feel, and with a variety of shops around the central square. These shops with their striped awnings include a boulangerie, butcher, fishmonger, cafe, frozen and fresh juice bar, delicatessen and a kitchenware section.

Food Journey

Ambarella Fine Foods was designed to create a food experience where you can be part of the ‘journey’ of food – it is a food tourist’s paradise – you can sit down in an alfresco area on traditional bent chairs surrounded by vibrant flowers taking you to the south of France, or enjoy a coffee and gourmet meal within the complex at one of the many seating areas including a beautiful leather banquette seating area with plywood table tops and cast iron table bases and little timber stools. This little niche was inspired by a beautiful old French cafe I visited many years ago in Vietnam where it hadn’t been renovated since the 1940’s and retained that incredible old world charm and character.

Fine Food Fine Dining

At Ambarella Fine Foods it really about the food experience. Not only can you purchase fresh pasta made to order, grind your own coffee, press your own juice, make your own pizza, pick and buy your own herbs, but also attend cooking classes and product demonstrations, such as the ‘make your own’ cheese kit. It is about getting down and dirty and being involved with food on a more intimate level.

Contemporary Setting

When we were given the brief by the Client we thought how can we create a French provincial market square inspired food experience without being literal. We wanted to capture the ‘feeling’ and the different food experiences within the food hall was most important. We designed the shops and even the central fruit and vegetable stands with their striped awnings with a clean contemporary palette and utilised finishes in innovative ways. The fruit and vegetable stands are finished with dark timber, striped awnings, and white painted pressed tin inserts to cupboard doors and gables. The canned and dry goods section has hessian covered wall panels. The boulangerie uses tumbled marble tiles and white gloss wall tiles. The fruit bar uses aqua coloured 3D wave inspired panels for the back wall and for the counter, beautiful fresh light mosaic tiles. We designed the entrances with the walls made from bricks, brown leather banquette seats, and antique looking wall lights. In the cafe we utilised white painted pressed tin panels, brick counter front, and thick timber wall shelves. The delicatessen consists of dark timber paneling and a stainless steel overhead to hang salamis and packs of pasta. The fishmonger has a feature fish scale pressed metal wall and the counter consists of white glazed gloss tiles laid in a brick bond fashion. The checkouts consist of dark timber with galvanised iron countertops. There are too many details to mention everything. Large chandeliers and signage throughout the food hall bring the space together.

Food Fix

Below is a short 360 degree view standing in the centre of Ambarella Fine Foods. In order to experience the different areas and get your ‘food fix’ you may just have to make it your next port of call.