Kieran Bunton is taking over the space vacated by Onzieme with Bar Nova. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
When restaurateur and chef Louis Couttoupes closed the award-winning Onzieme earlier this year, a hole was left in Canberra’s dining scene.
When he decided to shut up shop, Louis told Region he wanted to make sure the space went to someone who would do it justice.
So he asked friend Kieran Bunton if he had any ideas.
Kieran has made a career in hospitality, working across a range of Canberra venues including The Inn at Ainslie and collaborating on the pop-up After Service. He didn’t jump at the chance to take over the space immediately, but over a couple of months, he realised he had exactly what it took to create something new and the experience to make it stick.
“I’ve been working in Canberra’s hospo scene since like 2013, so I’ve been thinking about this for over a decade, and this just felt right,” he told Region.
He’s brought former Such and Such chef Nick Peterson on board to run the kitchen. They’re staying tight-lipped about the menu, but say they won’t be confined or boxed-in to a single cuisine.
Nick explained that he’ll be sourcing good produce and cooking it simply. And while the wood-fired oven will provide opportunities for plenty of char and fire flavours, the menu won’t be defined by it.
What they will reveal is that the whole restaurant is about to get a fresh look.
“It needs to feel different to Onzieme,” said Kieran.
“If it looks like Onzieme, then people are going to expect it to be Onzieme. But I want it to be a maximalist space with a 70s colour palette and there will be heaps of hip hop, punk and rock.”
Nick Peterson will be responsible for all things food at Bar Nova. Photo: Cassie Abraham.
While Kieran will act as the face of the business (and is, for now, the sole owner), he is quick to emphasise that any good restaurant relies on the whole team.
“Hospitality is really a team sport; we may as well be playing basketball. It only works if each part of the team works,” he said.
“It’s super exciting to get to do this with friends … and I feel super lucky to also be collaborating with friends who are artists, musicians and graphic designers.”
Since the pandemic years, Kieran has witnessed a hospitality industry in survival mode: trying to cut costs, stay afloat and appeal to as many customers as possible. He wants to have a different approach.
“I want to create a space that’s aggressively ‘me’. Fun, loud, outspoken … It’s going to be curated and intentional.
“And hopefully people will engage with that and have a bit of faith in us: we’ve been doing this a long time. We know what we’re doing.”
All things going to plan, Bar Nova will be open in August.
Bar Nova will be at the old Onzieme site on the corner of Kennedy Street and Eyre Street, Kingston. To find out more, follow Bar Nova on Instagram.
Original Article published by Lucy Ridge on Region Canberra.
