A slice of la bella vita
Sarah Catherall discovers a foodies’ hidden gem and the surprisingly industrial home of a collection of artists in the Wellington suburb of Miramar.
Located in suburban Wellington, Bongusto could hardly be called an Italian beauty, with its view of a shoppers’ carpark, worn cafe furniture and its location, next to a bright green liquor shop.
As pizza smells waft out the door, though, there is something deliciously inviting about the Miramar cafe and deli, which means ‘‘Good Taste’’ in Italian.
Bongusto reminds owner Roberto Giorgioni of the pizzeria he opened 28 years ago with his brother, Alexandro, in suburban Rome. A worn photograph of Il Pizzaiolo d Ozo hangs on one cafe wall, near a large map of the Italian capital.
Named one of the top 100 pizza restaurants in Italy, it is still run by his brother, a pizza chef. ‘‘When I go back there,’’ Giorgioni gushes, ‘‘people remember me. The same customers have been going there for so many years. It’s in a neighbourhood very similar to this one.’’
Giorgioni always wanted to set up a food shop with a similar neighbourhood vibe after he arrived in New Zealand 22 years ago to follow his wife (now his ex), who wanted to relocate here.
When the Miramar site came up eight years ago, he nabbed it. He didn’t mind that it was out of the CBD and off the beaten track. His daughters were 13 and 15 at the time, and he wanted an eatery that didn’t force him to work at night.
A sense of familiarity and connection like that at Il Pizzaiolo d Ozo was the same feeling he hoped to create when he opened Bongusto eight years ago. And it has worked, as Bongusto has many regulars too, who often come several times a week.
Two men chat at a table, where Giorgioni occasionally joins them, conversing in Italian.
While Bongusto is a hub for Wellington’s Italian community, its owner proudly talks about the place as a melting pot.
‘‘We have bankers who come in after work to take a meal home. We have people here for lunch who work at Bunnings, people from Weta, and truck drivers, who all come back,’’ he smiles.
Giorgioni jumps up from a worn chair to serve a customer who has come for slices of the pizza based on those served in Rome.
They’re drawn to the daily changing lunch menu – pappadelle with a vegetarian sauce today – the Roma pizza (minimal toppings, thin with crunchy crusts), and the packs of fresh pasta he and his team make out the back each morning.
Lined up in the fridge, the penne, tagliatelle and fettucine are based on the pasta recipes his Italian grandmother, Nonna Bella, taught him when he was growing up.
She hailed from Bologna, ‘‘the Italian capital of fresh pasta’’.
He and his chefs make the artisan pasta every morning, using just flour and free range eggs, and it is now served in Wellington restaurants like Ombra and also sold at Moore Wilson’s Fresh. His pasta sauces contain no sugar or additives.
‘‘I used to spend a lot of time with Nonna Bella growing up and I learned so many of her recipes. It just became second nature,’’ he says.
‘‘I never set out to make a lot of money. We are a family place here. I wanted a family-based place where my daughters could come and work. A place where I serve good, authentic Italian food.’’
One of his regulars is artist Max Patte, who pops in for lunch from his studio two kilometres down the road. Patte works in a former warehouse in a part of Wellington which is a mix of creative and industrial: along with Weta Digital and Park Road Post across the road, there’s an op shop next door to a brewery, and a panel beater workshop beside an outlet selling garage doors.
Visitors pour out of a tour bus to visit the
Thunderbirds Are Go exhibition, oblivious that Wellington artists are creating in an adjacent building off the carpark.
Inside, British-born Patte leans over a huge table and runs a polisher over the back of a circular, resin artwork. His art blurs the boundary between sculpture and painting. Trained in fine arts, he is best known for his iconic Solace in the
Wind leaning man sculpture on Wellington’s waterfront. His work is collected by Charles Saatchi and Sir Ian McKellen, among others.
Patte’s studio is open by appointment, but passers-by do often ring the bell and hop in to see the artist at work.
He shares the space with British-born photographer Virginia Woods-Jack, who is currently working on a book out next year – None
of this was planned with us in mind, inspired by an artist residency she did on K’gari (Fraser Island).
The photographer shows photographs inspired by our connection to the sea and ocean plastics.
Two artists, Freya Milne and James Russell, also work in the studio.
Woods-Jack, who doubles as studio manager, explains that Patte has regularly called on experts at Weta Workshop, where he used to work as a props manager before he became a full-time artist in 2012. She says: ‘‘It was a natural step to be so close to Weta. We utilise a lot of the creative skills that are here on the peninsula. It’s a pretty unique place.’’
Patte’s background is in clay sculpture and bronze, but today he pushes himself with new technology. He clicks a remote to show a circular lightbox flicking through different colour spectrums, moving from white to red and blue hues. ‘‘I’ve always tried to expand people’s expectations of what sculpture is,’’ he says.
In another part of the peninsula, artist Jane Blackmore smiles and says, ‘‘I couldn’t be happier’’. Earlier this year, she had her version of a midlife crisis. The 46-year-old had been a painter since she was 20. For 13 years, she had shared a studio with a fellow artist, Juliet Best, in Shelly Bay. She needed a change. ‘‘I considered giving up painting, and throwing it all in. I just wanted something different,’’ she says.
Standing in her new gallery space in Lyall Bay, Blackmore has a view of a demolition site and is located next door to Bunnings, but the area is fast becoming a hub for creatives and foodies.
Artist Seraphine Pick works out of a studio down the road, and potter Sue Dasler works out of Real Gallery a few doors away.
The mother of two holds a paintbrush in one hand as she is currently working on a new landscape. Her art works hang on the walls – paintings of roses and flowers blazing colourful hues are near moody landscapes inspired by Wellington hills and harbour, and South Island skies.
The studio and gallery is open every day, and visitors are likely to see the artist working on her next painting. She finds the space inspiring, and is also encouraged when she chats with customers who tell her where they will hang one of her works.
‘‘At a time when everything is busy and we are online so much, I try to offer works that offer space for thoughtful reflection. People are really looking for connections. Here, they can come and meet me and find out why I paint what I do.’’
After work, she often goes to ParrotDog bar a few doors away for a pizza and beer, and gets her daily coffee from Queen Sally’s Diamond Deli down the road. One of her favourite spots is Centennial Cafe next door, where she often heads for lunch. Solomon Rose – son of Tim Rose, who jointly set up Havana coffee in the late 1990s – has recently opened a cafe, Dixies, also in Lyall Bay.
Across the road from the roaring surf break, The Botanist serves wholesome vegetarian and vegan food.
‘‘It’s a great area. It really feels like things are happening here,’’ she says.
‘‘At a time when everything is busy and we are online so much, I try to offer works that offer space for thoughtful reflection.’’
Jane Blackmore, right