Edinburgh sommelier James Clark (left in picture) launches his debut project today (4 October) – Sotto, a wine bar and restaurant in Stockbridge that celebrates Italian food and wine. Sotto – meaning ‘under’ or ‘beneath’, a reference to the under-street cellar where the wines are stored – comprises an upstairs ‘enoteca’ and a ground-level trattoria led by Calabrian-born Francesco […]

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The French-owned, fantasy Italian Big Mamma group is to open its first UK restaurant outside London in Birmingham, taking over the former Vinoteca site in the Paradise development on Chamberlain Square. La Bellezza, a 150-cover trattoria with a 25-seat terrace, launches later this year and follows Gloria (pictured), Jacuzzi, Circolo Popolare, Ave Mario and Carlotta, […]

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A West London arts space has opened a chic new Italian restaurant under the direction of highly rated chef Emanuele Pollini. The venture shares Ladbroke Hall, a former car factory from the early motoring era, with contemporary art and design operation Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Pollini at Ladbroke Hall occupies the vaulted lobby of the grand […]

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A new Mediterranean restaurant taking inspiration from both its European and North African shores launches next week in Marylebone. Bellazul opens on Thursday 1 February in Blandford Street on the former site of Italian restaurant Il Baretto, with ex-Cecconi’s and 5 Hertford Street head chef Simone Serafini directing the kitchen. Dishes range from lobster spaghetti […]

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