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, […]
Artfarm, the hospitality arm of the Hauser + Wirth international art dealership, is to open its latest restaurant tomorrow – back where it began 10 years ago, at H+W’s rural art gallery on Durslade Farm near Bruton in Somerset. Da Costa restaurant is named after co-founder Iwan Wirth’s Italian grandfather, who was born in the village […]
Diners were disappointed to learn of two premature endings this week, with the closure of London risotto specialist All’Onda from first-time restaurateur Cordula Schluz (pictured) and the departure of veteran chef Simon Bonwick after 18 months at the Dew Drop Inn in Berkshire. All’Onda (meaning ‘on the wave’), in Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, only lasted for […]
Florentine comfort food concept Dez Amore opens its first permanent restaurant next week, on a corner site in Chelsea with a retro-modern look inspired by Italy in the 1970s. Launched by two friends from Florence, Leonardo Masi and Simone Parentini (pictured), Dez Amore lays claim to a ‘double soul’ that combines traditional Italian cooking with […]
The River Café, Ruth Rogers’s iconic Italian restaurant overlooking the Thames near Hammersmith, has opened a café next door – and yes, they’ve called it The River Café Café. The new café, which launched this week, is open every day from 9am until 10pm (4pm Sundays, closed on Mondays), serving an all-day Italian menu prepared by […]
Two prominent chef-led neighbourhood restaurants in London are to close after more than a decade. Chef-patron Bryn Williams will serve his last dinner at Odette’s in Primrose Hill tomorrow, 25 May, while L’Amorosa near Hammersmith will close its doors on 13 July. Announcing that he had sold Odette’s after 16 years, Bryn said “It’s been […]
A Sicilian-themed restaurant, Sotto Cucina & Bar, has opened in Whitechapel, in the basement of the Hyatt Palace City East hotel. Head chef Alfio Laudani is from Catania, close to Mount Etna on Sicily’s east coast, and his menu is built around produce from the fertile volcanic soil of the region, including olives, olive oil […]
An ambitious restaurant devoted to risotto is to open in Fitzrovia this spring. All’Onda, meaning ‘on the wave’, is from first-time restaurateur Cordula Schulz, who has recruited chef Andrea Granzarolo and general manager Marco Montalbano (respectively from Hélène Darroze and Muse by Tom Aikens) for the project. Hailing from Lombardy, the birthplace of risotto, Andrea […]
A new trattoria is opening in Earls Court next week promising a modern take on traditional Italian cuisine, with pizzas and pastas served at a communal central table. A Braccetto – meaning arm-in-arm or side-by-side – offers such contemporary flourishes as hand-crafted pasta, zero-waste pickled vegetables and organic wine. But more importantly, it is a testament to […]
The Fat Badger in Richmond has closed down after two years, and its Hill Rise site is to be taken over by ambitious fresh pasta chain Noci. The closure this week marks a step backwards for the three Gladwin brothers – Richard, Oliver and Gregory (pictured) – who launched their Local & Wild farm-to-fork restaurant group in […]
