Cocoro, which means ‘the heart and soul’ in Japanese, is located halfway down Ponsonby's Brown Street in Auckland, New Zealand in an old industrial warehouse. The restaurant seats a maximum of 40 people and can be classed as modern Japanese and offers a degustation style menu including Japanese style tapas. Gascoigne's associate Clark Pritchard had the pleasure of working with the owners on the interior of the restaurant to create an environment that is modern, comfortable and natural. The inside of Cocoro smells of freshly milled timber. The intimate décor includes large squares of woven charcoal and chocolate carpet reminiscent of subtle tatami-style matting, which checkerboard pattern detailing is also found back in the Cocoro’s menus. The ceilings are sandblasted exposed concrete, lined with Macrocarpa batons integrating LED downlights and sound studio foam for acoustics. The thin slot window in the back wall allows diners to see into the quiet, orderly Japanese kitchen. Circular graphics from the logo have been printed on the up-lit black walls. The large Macrocarpa communal dining table in the heart of the restaurant has been cut from a single tree and with its naturally chamfered edges invites guests to dine side by side. All of the selected materials are recyclable. The result is a contemporary space, suitable for both lunch and dinner, which compliments the tapas style menu with its simplicity.