You’re in Ukraine, you’ve just had your fifteenth bowl of mouth-puckering vinegar soup in three days, you suddenly crave an Italian. We hear you. Now tourists and Odessans alike can say boo to borscht and instead enjoy some mouth-watering Mediterranean fare at the tile-ish Tavernetta.
Designed by Studio Belenko, this Italian eatery has shipped in all the atmosphere of a trattoria to the port city, from the copious wood (I can hear the trees weeping from here) to the cool ceramics. Belenko have used an impressive (obsessive?) eye for detail in their work; the saw used to cut the wood was purposely damaged to create a jagged effect on the joinery, for example.
The place has a very light and airy feel during the day, aided by all that Siberian pine, while at night the stucco walls ensure there is a warmth to guard against any evening Odessa chill. Bellissimo!
Photography, Anatoliy Krinitskiy
