Il Portico team to launch Pino in Kensington

Called Pino, after owner James Chiavarini’s father who opened Il Portico in 1967, the new restaurant and wine bar will be located four doors up from the family's flagship, on the site of what used to be Pizzicotto.

The restaurant will have a 60-cover dining room, as well as a 52-cover terrace, and, like Il Portico, will focus on the cuisine of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

Head chef Simone Biraghi will oversee the menu, which will feature a range of sharing dishes such as the Campari-cured salmon with caperberries and beetroot; native Colchester oysters with house apple balsamic and tropea onion vinegar; and fried zucchini flowers stuffed with citrus and ricotta.

Other dishes include fritto misto of fresh anchovies and calamari; modenese, a lardo-based mousse flavoured with juniper, thyme and rosemary; and a range of the pizzette and flat breads prepared in the kitchens wood-fired oven.

The drinks menu, meanwhile, will include a cocktail list featuring an 'extensive' range of vermouths and Italian gins.

“I want Pino to inject some life to Kensington’s dining out scene post Covid," says Chiavarini.

"With some vibrant plates and an exciting drinks list, Pino is really a building on of everything our family has achieved at Il Portico – the solid, reliable, traditional Italian – by creating a fun, cheeky little sister restaurant.   

"Pino will be playful, atmospheric, buzzy and moreover totally delicious, where every plate is absolutely the food you want to eat.”