Harden's survey result
Summary
These retro-glam cafés are mostly located in-store, but the portfolio now also boasts the “beautiful building by the Serpentine Sackler Gallery” designed by Zaha Hadid. Perhaps because their price-tag is not exactly ‘bargain basement’, feedback is somewhat limited, but there’s a fairly clear picture of chic Italian dishes that, while “good and tasty”, can seem “nothing special” given the Monte Carlo-esque bill. Any such caveats do not seem to be getting in the way of the chain’s ongoing expansion however, most recently into Kensington.
Summary
“A chic take on Italian cooking” makes these in-store deluxe cafés– a popular option “for a quiet and unassuming” (but fairly loaded) Mayfair, Notting Hill and Chelsea clientele, who often choose it for business. The sceptical view is that it’s “perfectly nice, but why all the fuss – should they stick to frocks?” They must be doing something right though, with new branches this year in Harrods and – most notably – their takeover of Zaha Hadid’s magnificent restaurant space (formerly The Magazine, RIP) at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery.
Summary
Owned by an Italian luxury brand of ‘resort’ wear, these “cozy and calm” cafés adjoining shops in Mayfair and Chelsea aim to inspire the yachtie life of the Riviera in the 1960s. There’s “excellent service and solid food”, although some reporters favour breakfast over lunch.
Summary
Spin-offs from the up-and-coming luxury menswear brand (inspired by Ian Fleming’s look in the ’50s and ’60s) – this new duo of comfortable, clubbable cafés brings a hint of St Tropez (its third branch) to Mayfair and – now also – Notting Hill. Both serve “solid, classic Italian food”: the former is a “tiny”, “very intimate” space next to the boutique, the latter (on the ground floor below the shop, with outside terrace) is more “buzzing” and “ladies-who-lunch” in style. Notably “impeccable service” at both locations.
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