Bar Cicoria,
Royal Ballet and Opera
An all day bar on the fifth floor of the Royal Opera House, looking out over Covent Garden and serving a taste of Turin from Michelin starred chef Angela Hartnett.
Client
Royal Ballet and Opera
Location
Covent Garden, London
Our scope
Full build
Completed
August 2025
Interior design
Sedley Place
Main contractor and project management
3 Interiors and Equals Consulting
Photography
Michael Franke
The brief
Sedley Place first came to us in 2023 with a vision for a new terrace bar on the fifth floor of the Opera House, one that would be a showpiece in its own right. The terrace and its views across Covent Garden were already drawing a crowd, yet it was served by a small mobile bar that had never been built for that kind of trade. The brief was for something far larger, more modern and more capable.
Turning concepts into reality
Our answer was a long linear bar with two large underbar cocktail stations, each with its own glasswashing area, ice chest and EPOS. Sedley Place chose finishes of the highest specification: a white polished HIMACS bartop with curved green HIMACS corners, patinated brass trims, black powder coated stainless steel and an oak back bar.
Working with Sedley Place and our specialist joinery partner, we designed the upper back bar cabinets with pocket doors that fold away into their own recesses. With no doors left swinging open, the team can keep the cabinets open through service and the drinks on display, a simple idea that makes a real difference behind the bar.
Designing the workstation
Two fully equipped workstations, each holding everything the bartender needs within reach, keep the work flowing without clashes or bottlenecks. With generous refrigeration in the back bar and extra glass storage in the backfitting, the bar keeps the drinks moving while guests enjoy Italian food and the atmosphere of one of London’s great buildings.
Lighting the bar
Gary Crawford also specified the lighting as part of the design, because how a bar is lit shapes both how it looks and how well it works. Task lighting over each workstation gives the bartenders a clear, even light to work by, while down lighting along the bar front draws out the curves of the HIMACS panels and the Flauti tiles. Shelf lights in the gantry catch the bottles on display, and LED lighting in the backfitting brings warmth to the stained joinery and its open pocket doors.
Every circuit can be dimmed, so the bar moves easily from a bright afternoon on the terrace to a softer, more intimate evening, without the team behind it ever losing the light they need to work.
The workstation featuring insulated ice well, bar sink and prep space
Back bar view including ample refrigeration
A curved green HIMACS corner of the bar
View of upper backfitting joinery display with pocket doors
On every full build we focus on the finer details, making sure each junction is considered and every material can be cleaned and cared for with ease. Sedley Place specified beautiful, high end finishes, and our aim was to bring out the best in them and protect them once they were fitted.
The bar fronts are HIMACS, thermoformed into smooth curved panels and set against Flauti tiles, patinated brass trims and plinths, and a blackened steel gantry. Behind the bar, the stained joinery backfitting with its pocket doors completes a bar that more than lives up to its setting.
“The Royal Opera House is a long standing client of ours, and getting the opportunity to work on another space in their famous building was a real pleasure.”
Gary Crawford, Studio Manager, Cantilever