Puglia-inspired café and wine bar Capilungo to launch in Covent Garden

On Long Acre, the 15-cover Capilungo is being co-founded by Lecce-born brother and sister duo Gianluca and Asia Capilungo, their uncle Luca Capilungo, and Asia’s partner Huzefa Sajawal, the co-owner and executive chef of Indo-Chinese restaurant group Fatt Pundit. 

Café by day and wine bar by night, Capilungo’s offering will focus on quality ingredients and provenance, with a menu championing Lecce’s ‘hyper-local’ delicacies, from freshly baked ‘pasticciotto’ and ‘rustico’ pastries, burrata salads and cured meats, to Pugliese wines, aperitivo, and cocktails.

Inspired by Uncle Luca, who has run his own much-loved Lecce bakery since 1991, the pair say they want to bring his passion for specialty Lecce cuisine to London.

Asia (ex-Soho House and Cubbit House) will oversee the management of the venture and drinks expert Gianluca (former bar manager of Aqua Restaurant Group) will bring his mixology knowledge to the table, concentrating on aperitivo-style drinks and twists on classic cocktails.

Capilungo’s interiors are being designed by Love Poploskie Studio and feature a calming colour palette of soft terracotta and olive green, reminiscent of the hues of Lecce’s streets. 

Design elements will include high ceilings, cacti pendants, glass windows, stone-washed linen curtains and counter seating.