Recall a dining experience from childhood and it is likely to involve an Italian restaurant: white tablecloths, grissini breadsticks in paper wrappers and charming waiters sporting bow ties, spooning grated Parmesan cheese over bowls of spaghetti alla Napoletana, perhaps even served as a starter.
Well, bravissima! The elegant Italian restaurant is back, complete with golden Dover sole served from metal dishes, buttery veal Milanese and unctuous osso buco, pepper raining from long wooden grinders and the buzz of conviviality.
There is a new buzz around the old Italian restaurant, from Martino’s in Sloane Square, which has Londoners in the know flocking west — if they can secure a table — to the Mayfair stalwart Sartoria, which has opened an outpost in Kensington and will add a third in the City in a few weeks’ time, and the capital’s glamorous Raffles hotel, where there is one Milanese restaurant, Paper Moon, and another much-anticipated one, Langosteria, coming soon.
Marco Sousa prepares tables at Sartoria, the long-established Mayfair restaurant while Bogdan Jidovu, the manager, below, takes orders
CHRISTOPHER L PROCTOR FOR THE TIMES
The Knightsbridge celebrity favourite Sale e Pepe, which has been around since 1974, feeding the likes of Sir Rod Stewart and George Clooney, is opening a new, seafood-focused restaurant, Sale e Pepe Mare, in The Langham hotel next month.
Robbie Bargh, a hospitality branding consultant and founder of the Gorgeous Group, said a resurgence in elegant Italian dining provided an antidote to the rigours of daily life.
“In times like these we need restaurant experiences that are a combination of fiction and reality,” he said. “We need the myth and magic of la dolce vita, the romance of going out and living it up a little, where nostalgia and generosity meet.
“We want waiters in white tuxedos who swoon from table to table, sprinkling that little bit of magic dust, and we also want familiar food on menus that makes you smile. Antipasti, pasta, risotto, plates from the grill — even the sides have you salivating. This is escapism of the most delicious, familiar and comforting kind.”
Dishes served up by Sale e Pepe Mare
JUSTIN DE SOUZA
Martin Williams, chief executive of the Evolv Collection, which owns the Sartoria restaurants, agreed. “Cucina elegante, elegant Italian cuisine, is back in fashion,” he said. “While wooden tables and no side plates have their place, restaurants adorned with white tablecloths, with delicious, authentic, Milanese food served by waiters in bespoke Savile Row uniforms, are a classic that have never been more appreciated.”
The return of elevated Italian restaurants — contrasting with high street chains where the tables are wooden and cutlery comes in an empty can of chopped tomatoes — follows the rise of the negroni cocktail and Aperol spritzes, pricey olive oils becoming kitchen status symbols and tiramisu growing into an obsession.
Beyond the food, Italian culture is having a moment. The actor Stanley Tucci’s television travel series made him synonymous with everything we love about Italy; Gucci, Prada and Bottega Veneta have reclaimed their places as the most sought-after fashion labels; and the Italian Riviera and Puglia in southern Italy are perfetto summer holiday destinations.
“Old school is the new school,” said Markus Thesleff, the man behind Sale e Mare. “I grew up visiting Sale e Pepe with my parents, so it has a special place in my heart. I have always believed that Italian restaurants are about much more than just food. They’re about entertainment, warmth and bringing joy to all our guests and that is what I am doing with our new restaurant.
“People want meaningful experiences and to create amazing memories with their friends and loved ones at the same time.
“There’s a renewed appreciation for beautiful rooms, white tablecloths, considered music and lighting, alongside attentive service and cooking that respects exceptional ingredients. London diners are craving that sense of occasion again, and that’s exactly why it’s the right moment to celebrate Italian food as it’s meant to be enjoyed.”
Dining and Cooking