Located at the base of the Rialto, within the historic financial heart of Melbourne, the design draws upon the context of the site and the values of the Sensory Lab brand to reimagine the previously generic sandwich, salad and coffee experience. The brief sought a clever and compact design to showcase in equal measure, both a coffee and ‘grab and go’ food offering and retail experience, a first for the brand. The open plan layout seeks to maximise the small footprint of the tenancy and blur the division between patron and service zones. The food is prepared in house and show cased through a burgundy-framed structure lined with obscured glazing to cleverly control sight lines into BOH areas. Upon entering, patrons are met with a monolithic tarnished bronze counter that exhibits the food offering and simultaneously guides the ‘grab and go’ procession. The palette is intentionally minimal but textural, adopting traditional and honest finishes including rendered walls, reclaimed herringbone timber, aged metals and marbles, all being accentuated by delicate bronze and brass detailing. Seating is limited to an intimate corner banquette for small groups, accompanied by a Venetian styled standing bar that visualizes an eloquent scene of coffee goers.