ALFREDO’S OPENS BEHIND ALFRED AND CONSTANCE

Alfredo’s

Directly behind Alfred and Constance
(07) 3251 6555 or www.alfredos.com.au

The bright white tiles and the yellow neon sign on Alfred Street have been sparking the interest of locals who are excited to see a late-night Pizzeria open in Brisbane. Alfredo’s is the newest haunt to join a village of venues that are forming on the Valley fringe.

The latest addition to the once-derelict area in the outskirts of Brisbane’s CBD, Alfredo’s is Damian Griffith’s latest venture, with Alfred & Constance opening late last year and Lime’s being the first boutique designer hotel and rooftop bar to Brisbane five years ago.

Griffiths has once again teamed up with designer, Alexander Lotersztain to create a space that blends an unexpected modern, edginess with traditional Italian roots. The wood-fired oven is the hero of the space, made with vintage tiles from England, surrounded by a small, cosy bar with an industrial feel.

Originally an old factory floor, Lotersztain has retained the footprint of the building by exposing the raw brick, keeping the sea-saw roofing structure and re-using the timber from the second level. “We had a lot of timber left over once we opened the space up and instead of wasting this beautiful old wood, we incorporated it into the design to add more character,” Lotersztain said.

“We wanted to create a figurative personality for the design and started to think about who the pizza maker would be, what Mr Alfredo would be like, and we imagined this really cool, old Italian guy who’s a bit of a hipster,” Lotersztain said.

“We met Aldo Nicolosi on the street of Haberfield in Sydney, where he hangs out at a café with his friends most days – he had this really cheeky attitude and we just knew instantly that he was our Mr Alfredo,” he said.

Aldo Nicolosi’s face has become the backdrop to the venue, with a large-scale photo of him backlit on one of the interior walls and the entire space influenced by the Mr Alfredo character.

Lotersztain has found elements from a time when Mr Alfredo was in his prime – an antique cash register, vintage lights from Germany and an old kitchen scale to measure the dough for the pizzas.

Once a hardware store, old tools also feature in the fit-out, with a huge old vice on the front bar and pitchforks hanging from the walls.

Lotersztain spent three years living in Milan, so has an understanding of the different Italian regions, which helped him create the design for Alfredo’s.

“The Italian influences are a mixture of the sleek, glam of Milan as well as more lively places like Napoli and Calabria which are a bit more rough around the edges,” Lotersztain said.

But the design also pays homage to Australia’s climate and landscape, with the original rusty tin roofing being reused for the internal ceiling and sky lights letting in the sun during the day.

The space also lends itself to the relaxed Brisbane social scene, with an alfresco area at the front so that people can enjoy a drink and a slice of pizza with friends outside on the front deck.