Cin Cin Buffet - Italian Day Bar

The bistro can easily be overlooked. However, a group of consumers standing on the street draws attention to it. The bistro has ordinary doors and a display that can be transformed into a service counter. Right upon entering, you are greeted with 'buongiorno', so you don't forget that you are in an Italian buffet and what kind of dishes and drinks you can expect. The investor was Maria Fuchs, considered the unofficial ambassador of Italian cuisine in Vienna. The daily bar CIN CIN, specializing in sandwiches, was operated together with Hedwig Zinöcker.
The author of the interior solution with a checkered floor and a massive bar dividing the space approximately in half is architect Hermann Czech, who is behind several cafes and bars in the center of Vienna. The concept is based on the rule that an establishment with fewer than eight seats does not need to provide toilets for customers. Although the bistro lists a capacity of 18 people, the seating on bar stools is for only six. During peak hours, a three-member staff takes care of operations, which even has a larger floor area than the customers. The sales area is divided into three parts. The first consists of a glass display case where you can buy Italian groceries and take them home after being sliced. From the same assortment, they can prepare a sandwich, focaccia, or other quick snacks on the back kitchen counter. The third part involves drink preparation with a corner bar. Additional seating with a narrow table is placed along a wall with tilted mirrors, so you can keep an eye on the happenings even when turned away. Above the bar counter, there is a shelf with glasses and bottles. A brass chandelier dominates the space above the customers. The regular rhythm of the marble checkered floor is deliberately disrupted by a single white square tile leading to the entrance doors. It is a joy to observe how the interior designer playfully contemplated even the smallest detail.
In 2020, during the pandemic, the Cin Cin buffet was closed, and now the original interior is operated by the brotherly duo Dario and Luca Formisano under the name Monte Ofelio Bar.
In the spring of 2024, during the retrospective exhibition of Hermann Czech at FJK3, the original white three-dimensional Cin Cin logo was temporarily installed in the gallery window and is now stored away in the archive.