Three new Italian openings that attest to London’s appetite for la dolce vita
From Soho’s 1950s-style espresso bars to Mayfair’s white tablecloth ristorante, you’d be hard pressed to think of a London neighbourhood lacking a good Italian restaurant. We try three of the best new openings.
Just as no two Italian regions (or nonnas) share a recipe, each of London’s restaurants have their own charm. Here are three new openings that are putting the Bel Paese on a plate.
Burro, Covent Garden
“Italy and Ireland have plenty in common,” chef, restaurateur and Belfast native, Conor Gadd, tells Monocle. “They share a real care for hospitality.” After earning his red, white and green stripes over 16 years as head chef and owner of Trullo, the fan-favourite Italian spot in Highbury, Gadd’s Italianate inclination has now manifested itself into a new trattoria, Burro.
The slick, new 95-cover tenant in Covent Garden sees the Northern Irishman slip from kitchen clogs and into founder’s shoes. “I won’t pretend [that] I’m half Italian – but I’ve travelled around the country and am profoundly in love with the nation’s relationship to food,” he says. His admiration is evident: tables laid with drum-tight linen cloths sit under warm lighting from round lamps while the walls are festooned with Irish and Italian art.
Following the traditional antipasti, primi, secondi and dolci framework, the dishes – best shared – fight for attention. Think focaccia, anchovies laid in long stripes under crispy, wafer-like crostini or lightly fried artichokes. Rich primi follow but the duck and porcini ragù quickly wins favour. “Trullo is known for pappardelle beef shin ragù,” says Gadd. “I loved the idea of adding minced duck instead.” Porcini mushrooms were added as an afterthought. “It was the missing depth that it needed,” says Gadd.
trattoriaburro.com
Monocle recommends: The braised beef shin with polenta and wilted ‘cicoria’ with a glass of 2019 Conterno Fantino, an elegant red hailing from Piedmont.
Osteria Vibrato, Soho
It was the buzz of Greek Street that drew Australian restaurateur Charlie Mellor to Soho when looking to house his Italian-inspired restaurant, Osteria Vibrato. “Soho came first,” he says. “I wanted to create a comforting oasis in the middle of a hectic part of town.” But why Vibrato? “I studied music and had a short career as a professional opera singer working in the United States, Australia and, of course, Italy. It felt right to echo that connection.”
The old-school osteria format adopts culinary traditions from Liguria, Valle d’Aosta and Abruzzo, blending staples such as the white risotto with parmigiano reggiano and lesser-known delicacies such as cotechino, a slow-cooked sausage from the Emilia-Romagna region. “The food is best described as respectful rather than authentic,” says Mellor. “Every recipe has been lovingly assembled with ingredients that have been carefully sourced from across every region in Italy.”
But the real stamp of approval has come from winning over the Italians themselves. “One of the most touching experiences has been the number of Italians who are falling in love with this restaurant because they recognise the respect that we have for their country,” says Mellor. “It makes me very happy indeed.”
osteriavibrato.co.uk
Monocle recommends: A slab of aged ricotta finished with a lick of Sardinian olive oil – simplicity at its best.
Cece’s, Notting Hill
For a hospitality group that has built a foolproof formula for rebooting the great British pub, Public House Group’s seductive, New York-style Italian restaurant in Notting Hill is a reminder of the group’s ability to continually surprise.
Located next to a dry cleaner and a corner shop, Cece’s nameless façade feels deliciously incongruous. Inside there’s nothing modest about the hall of mirrors, tasselled lampshades and outré decor – the palm leaves and stag heads stop just short of kitsch. “We left much of the decor intact from what was here before,” co-founder James Gummer tells Monocle, motioning to the copper panelling and velvet banquettes on the upstairs level which conjure the atmosphere of a moody cocktail lounge more than a sit-down affair. “We wanted Cece’s to feel like a surrealist slice of 1920s Hollywood glamour in Notting Hill.”
But as we’ve come to expect from Public House Group, Cece’s takes food seriously. Polpette made the old way – with a mixture of beef, pork and veal – arrive before pinched agnolotti in a silky butter sauce followed by the pink beef fillet served alongside reliable side dishes (or contorni): polenta fritti, cavalo nero and olive-oil-crusted potatoes. And while the restaurant’s musky incense and recurrent reflective surfaces offer more than a hint of the American speakeasy, one thing is for sure – Cece’s certainly isn’t smoke and mirrors.
ceceslondon.com
Monocle recommends: The dinky bomboloni – the Italian take on an American donut – lined with ‘crema pasticciera’ and spiked with rhubarb compote. Bravo.
