Mina-no-ie

Zenta and Megumi Tanaka, the duo behind much loved Collingwood cafe Cibi, have a (bigger) sister venue, aptly named Mina-no-ie (Japanese for Everyone's Home).

Taking over a vacant warehouse, Zenta articulated the space's lovely industrial bones with touches like blackened steel trestles that prop up tabletops made from reconfigured wine barrels. Running through the main spine of the cafe are two timber communal tables that are soap-finished to provide their surfaces with a subtle off-white hue.

This subtle textural interplay also extends to the choice of handmade porcelain cups, saucers and plates that were created in a collaboration between the Cibi team and local potter Shane Kent. It's a dynamic that recasts the everyday act of drinking coffee into a wonderfully tactile experience. These cups, along with other beautifully considered everyday products, are on sale at Cibi’s store.

Megumi, the heart and soul of the space, has developed a concise menu that offers the kind of heart-warming food that we have all come to enjoy at Cibi cafe. Harking back to the nourishing Japanese home-style food that she grew up with in rural Okayama, Megumi’s food philosophy at Mina-no-ie is as much about the notion of providing sustenance as it is about the balance of flavours.