Bellanotte

Sit-Down Restaurant
First Place
Echeverria Design Group Inc., Coral Gables, Fla.

To create a “beautiful night” out for diners, designers of the Bellanotte restaurant mixed traditional Tuscan-style elements with modern touches, and used a palette of warm and color-infused tones to offer a bright, cozy respite from the cold Minneapolis winters. Most of the 10,000-square-foot space is taken up by a main bar off the entrance, a second bar in the main dining room and a lounge with private bar and dining room. The latter accommodates large crowds arriving after events at the nearby Target Center.

The emphasis on clean lines is evident throughout the space in such details as a freestanding glass-enclosed wine tower in the bar area; floor-to-ceiling red oak panels with protruding square pendants in natural mica; and a glowing amber onyx stone countertop at the main bar. Other focal elements add warmth and modernity, including a central working stone and glass fire pit in the octagonal dining room, a series of color-changing acrylic panels that divide the space in the main dining room and color-changing LEDs that illuminate the entire space. But traditional Tuscan flair pervades the space in bronze and sheer drapes over the perimeter windows, Venetian-stuccoed walls and soffits, and the combination of wenge-wood millwork and flooring, light-colored upholstered banquettes and a palette of beiges and oranges.

Client: David Koch and Kam Talebi, Minneapolis

Design and Architecture: , Coral Gables, Fla.
Mario Echeverria, president
John Naranjo, project senior designer
Robert Dominguez, project manager

General Contractor: Diversified Construction, St. Louis Park, Minn.

Lighting: Florida Architecture Lighting, Pompano Beach, Fla.
Stephane Dagani, New York

Kitchen Consultants: Premier Restaurant Equipment, Minneapolis

Furniture: The La Sala Group, Hollywood, Fla.

Custom Millwork: Vision Woodworking, Fridley, Minn.

Sound System Consultant: Sound Stage Systems, North Haven, Conn.

Signage: Signcrafters, Fridley, Minn.

Photography: Douglas Reid Fogelson Photography, Chicago