The Peasant’s Table is a new restaurant at the Mezz Shopping Centre which aims to nurture the community of Mt Hawthorn, in inner urban Perth. The Peasant’s Table has been designed to encourage community interaction and support all things local including local produce, suppliers, design and manufacture.

The name for the venue ‘The Peasant’s Table’ directed the design towards imagery of farm cottages and symbols such as the Metters’ Stove, Coolgardie Meat Safe and common farmyard materials such as rope and timber. Industrial detailing and materials that are ‘up-cycled’, ‘recycled’ or ‘handmade’ were utilised throughout the space in response to a limited budget and to reflect the rustic ‘Peasant’ theme. The Peasants Table was also designed with four ‘zoned’ public areas, being the alfresco, café, bar and dining areas. This zoning strategy combined with the selected materials palette allowed the venue to transition from day to night and provide a casual, family friendly atmosphere with a sense of familiarity and informality.

The client had a very clear vision for what the venue should be – they wanted a restaurant/cafe that would enhance the Mezz Shopping Centre whilst catering to the local Mt Hawthorn community. The project was an initiative of the centre owners’ along with the adjacent road closure works, where the pre-existing (private) roadway running through the rear of the Mezz shopping centre was closed and turned into a pedestrian lane.

The Peasant’s Table in conjunction with the redevelopment of the laneway was a project focused on creating a family friendly space which would become a destination and contribute to the social sustainability and cultural life of the community.

Three existing tenancies at the rear of the Mezz Shopping Centre were amalgamated to offer a space that could be utilised as a restaurant.

The existing shopfronts were demolished and new vertically bi-folding windows were installed in order to create a greater transparency between the internal and external spaces - promoting engagement between the laneway and restaurant. A dividing wall and large sliding door between the bar/café and dining/function space allows the operator to close off the dining/function area during the day when trade patterns may necessitate this. This ‘zoning’ strategy, combined with the selected material palette allowed the venue to transition from day to night. Additional spaces within the laneway development, including a lounge area with a large screen tv and a playground, supplement the restaurant by providing a destination that promoted positive socialization behaviour in the community.

The name for the venue The Peasant’s Table was determined relatively early in the design process, informing both the design and the menu in a direction which encouraged ‘supporting all things local and ‘home-made’. The name for the venue directed Taylor Robinson towards imagery of farm cottages, and within this imagery, symbols of the cottage, such as the (early Australian) Metters’ Stove or Coolgardie Meat Safe. Common farmyard (working) materials such as rope and timber helped influence both the design and material palette. Other ‘honest and robust’ materials such as, concrete blockwork, LVL reconstituted timber beams and basic floors as they were ‘uncovered’. Ropes, utilitarian glass, wire mesh, ‘offcut random parquetry’ and stencils applied to the floor (by the designers) were utilised to reduce the overall cost of the project yet successfully add some functional texture and graphic interest to the space.

Materials that imbue a sense of being ‘recycled’ or ‘handmade’ include the terracotta lights over the bar and the recycled ‘fire starter’ pendants in the dining area, both elements designed and manufactured locally by Bradley Cole. Recycled timber ‘planks’, used to serve meals, were also manufactured locally.