Auckland cafe has bark and bite

Designer Paul Izzard had carte blanche to interpret owner Sue McGregor's theme of puppy love.

Betsy, an 11-year-old mutt from the SPCA, and artist Jeff Koons' sculpture of a dog at Spain's Bilbao Museum are the unlikely inspirations behind Puppy, a new city cafe.

Puppy and Betsy owner Sue McGregor was taken with the towering 20m-high Spanish rendering of a Scottie dog, covered with flowers, during a visit to the museum.

The sculpture's sense of fun inspired her to open Puppy, where the stylish decor features a hot pink pillar where owners can post snapshots of their darling pooches. Other touches include doggy water bowls outside for man's best friend.

McGregor also owns Baretta Espresso on nearby Beresford St and had noticed many of her regulars were as enamoured of their pets as she is of Betsy. "I love dogs and so do many of my customers, so Puppy seemed like a great idea for a name," she says.

The Puppy fitout is by designer Paul Izzard, who also designed Stephen Marr's hair salons and neighbouring Match bar. Izzard lives in an apartment in the same building, so naturally he designed the cafe to be a place he'd want to visit.

McGregor likes the view of the trees down Greys Ave and so briefed Izzard to bring colour into the design, but otherwise gave him carte blanche. They'd looked at possible design schemes that had prints of Jeff Koons' works on the walls, "but this seemed too literal", Izzard says.

Instead, he came across retro-style Stinson wallpaper that ended up being a starting point for the interior. Now, turquoise painted walls combine with watery aqua-coloured glass at the counter, where fittingly, David Trubridge's Coral light is also a feature. Pink glass, custom-made soft seating by Simon James Design and classic bentwood chairs designed by Fritz Hansen add to the space's eclectic and colourful charm.

"We wanted to get away from that plastic-chair cafe look," McGregor says. Leaners in a freshly painted alley outside, as well as a curved bench in the 40-seat cafe, cater for customers whether they've stopped in for a quick coffee on their own or a meeting.

The menu, by Cameron Lawless of Ponsonby cafe Season and formerly of Foodoo, features breakfast, brunch and lunch dishes, including sandwiches, salads and soups as well as retro dishes such as mince on toast.

Barista Amy Day has moved to Puppy from Barretta Espresso, where her place has been filled by Minnie, formerly at Powder on Ponsonby Rd.

Music playing from an iPod means the ambience will never be monotonous either - after all, if a cafe is inspired by a sculpture of a flowery dog, it's got to be about fun.

* Puppy is at 41 Pitt St, Auckland, phone 309 2196.