A few weeks back we dropped in on Cervo’s, a tiny Portuguese wine bar and restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. They are usually built using tile, wood and metalwork, which are durable and not prohibitively expensive materials.
Photography by Erin Little for Remodelista.
While we were photographing, the smell of warming olives permeated the space from the compact kitchen behind the bar—the restaurant’s only cook space.
The previous restaurant had a long bar running the length of the front room with small banquettes where our high tables are now The color palette was mostly white There was a lot more equipment in the kitchen and different tiles and...
1. Don’t underestimate small changes.
...shelving We had very little money for this project so we knew that the remodel had to be a cosmetic one that didn t change the general layout too much or create a need for a major utilities overhaul the duo says
2. Counter warmth with metal.
The custom, curved zinc bar is the center of the space (and all of the cooking takes place behind it).
“You draw out what you want with measurements on a piece of paper, talk about a few details, and boom, they build it,” the owners say.
A long thin mirror runs above the bar, where the wall meets the ceiling. Sitting at the bar, the wall of wood paneling behind is reflected above the tile.
3. Enlist smoke and mirrors.
Among the team’s cost-saving measures: preserving the shiplap ceiling left behind by the previous restaurant.
4. Turn shiplap on its head.
Don’t overlook scraps of more expensive materials: The statement marble ledge in the front window started as a discarded piece at a marble yard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
5. Seek out marble scraps.
6. Expect tarnish.
Though the restaurant opened in the summer of 2017, the interiors don’t feel overly polished, in part because the owners allow for imperfection.
“They still had the form for that pattern, so we asked them to invert the colors from the original, knowing that we would never truly match them,” Fallon and Perkins say.
The narrow front room and small dining area behind.
7. Splurge on millwork.
In keeping with traditional Portuguese cervecerias, the existing white walls were replaced with custom millwork—in this case, cherry—by Carver Farrell at Living Space Design.
8. Build in storage under the counter.
With a tight prep space, the team built storage into easy-to-access places, like this metal shelf that holds serveware underneath the bar
9. Usher in unexpected ceramics.
For an interior window between the front and back rooms, the team sourced vintage—and surprisingly colorful—Portuguese ceramics online.
10. Match fixtures to the millwork.
A small but impactful detail: The millwork team made small integrated panels to seamlessly fit the custom linen sconces from Broome Lampshades to the wall.
From the photographs we’d seen online, it looked like the banquettes in the front and back room (shown here) were upholstered in cloth, maybe velvet.
11. Upgrade upholstery with wood.
But they’re clad in painted wood, “inspired by the benches our friends built at Ops in Brooklyn,” Perkins and Fallon say.
Built-in benches also keep the tiny back room from feeling cluttered.
In the small back room, a wall of built-ins is both artful and efficient.
12. Retro-fit built-ins.
Above L: Shelves display wine and store extra glassware and place settings.
The small bathroom is not what you might expect from the rest of the space.
13. Take cues from what’s there.
14. Build in interior windows.
The millwork team built in a small window between the front and back rooms, to let light in and to serve as display.
15. Bring back terracotta.
The restaurant serves small dishes—like warm olives with lemon zest—in terracotta dishes called cazuelas from Spain, imported from Despaña.
A moment of light in the front doorway.