26-05-2025
Bar Céleste announces closure, ending five-year run in Auckland
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Landsman and Ogilvie opened Bar Céleste in 2019, taking over the space formerly occupied by Revel Café.
The relaxed wine bar was the couple's first bricks-and-mortar operation, though they'd already built a loyal following in Auckland through their pop-up dinners under the banner La Pêche Projects.
In a review that touted Bar Céleste's French charm and late-night verve, Viva's Dining Out editor Jesse Mulligan dubbed the self-styled neo-bistro Auckland's best new opening of 2019 'by a long shot' and scored the restaurant 19/20.
That same month, Canvas restaurant reviewer Kim Knight visited the eatery and described the restaurant's signature dessert, a chocolate ganache served with flaky sea salt and olive oil, as 'less of a pudding and more of a small, chocolatey bridge between how we used to eat and how we'd like to eat now'.
Though their menu largely centred around modern reworkings of classical French dishes such as carottes râpées and bavette steak with beurre maître d'hôtel and jus, reflecting their time living and working in Paris, the couple also included culinary influences from closer to home.
A version of raw fish salad ota ika was often available on the menu as an homage to Ogilvie's Tongan heritage.
To meet market conditions during its half decade in business, the restaurant adapted its approach a number of times. During the Covid-19 lockdowns, the restaurant operated under the name Cantine, a takeaway-only model that served burgers, sandwiches and cookies.
Last winter, the restaurant rebranded as Pizzeria Céleste, a seasonal pizza bar pop-up serving New Haven-style pizzas and organic wines.
Returning to its wine bar format in September 2024, the restaurant launched promotional campaigns to encourage business, including an Oyster Happy Hour in which the bivalves were offered for $3.50 each Wednesday-Saturday between 5pm and 6pm.
Last year the business earned a spot on Viva's list of Top 60 Restaurants in Auckland.
Deputy Editor Johanna Thornton praised the restaurant's adaptability and stated, 'there's no better place to enjoy a glass than Céleste's outdoor tables in the early evening sun'.
The closure sees Bar Céleste join a growing list of venerated Auckland Eatery's winding down their operations in recent months.
Last week Tokki, a celebrated Korean restaurant in Milford announced they would have their last service on June 21.
In April Ponsonby Road Bistro announced it was closing after 18 years in operation, and Sid and Chand Sahrawat announced they were closing their restaurant Kol, citing challenging trading conditions.
In December 2024 a quarterly report from the Restaurant Association of New Zealand outlined that national restaurants and cafes sales reached $1.8 billion, down 2.5% year on year, 'underscoring continued challenges for dine-in services as customers tighten discretionary spending'.
The report stated that 57% of surveyed Restaurant Association members reported worse or significantly worse profitability compared to the same period in the year prior.
A downturn in customer numbers was cited as the biggest challenge for operators, with 38% of respondents identifying it as their primary concern.
Announcing the closure of Bar Céleste the hospitality duo hinted at potentially re-visiting the format in years to come.
'While this chapter is coming to a close, we're looking forward to carrying what we've built at Bar Céleste into future projects — and we hope to cross paths with many of you again soon."
Landsman and Ogilvie also operate Gloria's, a sandwich deli in Downtown Auckland's Commercial Bay precinct.
The daytime eatery first opened in 2022, a few doors down from Bar Céleste on Karangahape Road, taking over the space that formerly held their natural wine shop, Star Wines.
