Head chef and opening date confirmed for Ramsay's Union Street Café

04-Sep-2013 - Last updated on 27-Apr-2021 at 12:53 GMT

Related tags Gordon ramsay Restaurant

Gordon Ramsay is excited to see the ideas of head chef Davide Degiovanni come to life

Union Street Café, the long-awaited restaurant from the Gordon Ramsay Group, has unveiled the chef that will be heading up the venue and the dishes that will be on offer when it opens near Borough Market later this month.

Italian-born Davide Degiovanni takes the helm, sourcing produce from the Mediterranean with an emphasis on Italian artisan producers. The 99-cover restaurant will open in the ground floor of Harling House on 16 September.

“Developing the menu with Gordon has been amazing,” said Degiovanni. “ We wanted the style of food to be Italian, using Mediterranean produce; much like I would serve back home, but now here too, as we are working with producers such as the farm my family have been buying ricotta from all my life.”

Ramsay added: “I’m delighted to welcome Davide to the team. He is incredibly talented and it’s been great working with him over the past couple of months and see his ideas come to life.

"The site we have chosen is an amazing space and combined with our fresh, daily changing menu with the most amazing produce, I’m excited to start welcoming guests through the doors.”

On the menu

With dinner expected to cost £30 a head, Union Street Café’s daily-changing menu will include dishes such as crisp Parma ham, buffalo mozzarella & peperonata, stone bass crudo, fennel and capers, tagliolini, rabbit & taggiasche olives and veal saltimbocca, marsala & fried zucchini.

The interior will retain many original features from the disused loading bays that once were; from the shutters and windows to the columns, providing an urban look. Designers Russell Sage have used leather and steel throughout the restaurant, with vintage Italian seating giving a nod to its Mediterranean feel.

Union-Street-Cafe-Ramsay — The 99-cover restaurant retains many of the building's original features, from the shutters and windows to columns,

A downstairs bar will also feature, accessed by a main staircase in the middle of the restaurant. It will be a more relaxed space, serving classic Italian and innovative new cocktails with a London influence. Union Street Café’s bar area will also serve a range of light bites and snacks.

Beckham NOT involved

Despite being widely reported by the world's media (including hereon BigHospitality), Union Street Cafe is not a joint venture with David Beckham, who we were initially told was a financial backer of the business. The restaurant's PR firm since told us "It's not happening - Beckham is definitely not involved."

The new restaurant is the first London opening for Ramsay since Bread Street Kitchen in September 2011- the Group has a total of 25 restaurants globally and nine Michelin stars.

Union Street Café will open at 47-51 Great Suffolk Street in September.