Italian cuisine - Hospitality

Latest opening: Sale e Pepe

12-Apr-2024 By Stefan Chomka

Now part of Thesleff Group, the stalwart Knightsbridge Italian restaurant is celebrating its 50th birthday with a comprehensive nip and tuck.

Paparazzi Café team to open Fellini

11-Apr-2024 By Joe Lutrario

The team behind erstwhile Mayfair restaurant Paparazzi Café will launch an Italian restaurant in Chelsea early next month.

The 'world’s best pizza' is coming to London

02-Apr-2024 By Restaurant

Londoners will be able to try the ‘world’s best pizza’ for the first time thanks to a partnership between Neapolitan pizza restaurant group Fatto a Mano and Master Pizzaiolo Franco Pepe.

Latest opening: Unlock

28-Mar-2024 By James McAllister

Napoli-born siblings Arianna and Giovanni Izzo’s first London opening is part pizza restaurant; part cocktail bar; and part art space.

Risotto restaurant all’onda to launch in London’s Fitzrovia

27-Mar-2024 By James McAllister

Former Hélène Darroze at The Connaught chef Andrea Granzarolo is to lead the kitchen of new fine dining restaurant in London’s Fitzrovia that celebrates the staple Italian rice dish risotto.

San Carlo sets its sights on international expansion

25-Mar-2024 By Shwetali Sapte

San Carlo Group is preparing to open at least six restaurants in the next 18 months, according to managing director Marcello Distefano.

Gusto launches £65 subscription-based membership programme in casual dining first

20-Mar-2024 By Joe Lutrario

Largely Northern-based Italian group Gusto has become the UK’s first casual dining brand to launch a subscription-based membership programme that requires guests to pay upfront to access discounts and other benefits.

Cameron House to open La Vista Italian restaurant

14-Mar-2024 By Restaurant

Cameron House has transformed its The Boat House restaurant into a new Italian concept following a £2m investment.

ASK Italian switches to 100% regenerative flour for its pizza

12-Mar-2024 By Joe Lutrario

ASK Italian has become the first major Italian restaurant group to make its pizza with regenerative flour.

Peckham’s Café Britaly to celebrate ‘Britain’s love-affair with Italian food’

05-Mar-2024 By Joe Lutrario

Bocca di Lupo alumni Richard Crampton-Platt and chef Alex Purdie will open an all-day restaurant in Peckham later this spring.

The Lowdown: the rise of the Italian-American restaurant

23-Feb-2024 By James McAllister

Fans of vodka pasta and gabagool have plenty to salivate about with Italian-American restaurants popping up across the capital and beyond.

Yorkshire’s Pranzo Italian to launch third restaurant

23-Feb-2024 By Joe Lutrario

Chef restaurateur Marco Greco has chosen the West Yorkshire town of Horsforth for his third Pranzo Italian.

Italian restaurant Vivi to open in Liverpool next month

22-Feb-2024 By Restaurant

The family behind popular south Liverpool restaurant Cucina Du Vincenzo is opening a second venture nearby.

Unlock to bring Neapolitan pizzas to Hackney Wick

21-Feb-2024 By Restaurant

Hackney Wick will be home to a new a pizza restaurant, cocktail bar and art space when it opens next month.

Team behind Tattu to open Italian-American restaurant Louis in Manchester

19-Feb-2024 By Restaurant

The surge in popularity of Italian-American restaurants is showing no signs of slowing with one opening in Manchester later this year.

Vapiano looks to double its UK presence

19-Feb-2024 By Joe Lutrario

Italian restaurant group Vapiano says it is looking to “at least double the size” of its five-strong UK estate.

Book review: Big Mamma, Italian Recipes in 30 Minutes

09-Feb-2024 By Stefan Chomka

Idiosyncratic restaurant group Big Mamma has released an Italian cookbook reflective of its tongue-in-cheek personality.

Markus Thesleff: “Sale e Pepe has amazing DNA but it is tired and needs love”

26-Jan-2024 By Joe Lutrario

The serial restaurateur behind Notting Hill’s Los Mochis will relaunch the Knightsbridge stalwart mid next month having been running the restaurant on a low-key basis since 2022.

Giancarlo Caldesi to launch Belsize Park restaurant

26-Jan-2024 By Joe Lutrario

Chef restaurateur Giancarlo Caldesi will launch his first new restaurant project for over a decade next month having acquired the former Calici site in North London’s Belsize Park.

Gareth Saywell appointed head chef of Soho's Bocca di Lupo

24-Jan-2024 By Joe Lutrario

Gareth Saywell has been named as the new head chef of Jacob Kenedy’s Bocca di Lupo Italian restaurant in Soho.

Chef Antonio ‘Lello’ Favuzzi joins Belvedere as head chef

22-Jan-2024 By Joe Lutrario

Italian-born chef Antonio ‘Lello’ Favuzzi has been appointed to lead the kitchen at Holland Park restaurant Belvedere.

Tom Cenci to oversee Italian restaurant Mortimer House Kitchen

11-Jan-2024 By Restaurant

Nessa executive chef Tom Cenci is to oversee a new Italian restaurant at its sister venue Mortimer House.

11 food, drink and restaurant trends for 2024

10-Jan-2024 By Restaurant

What will the next 12 months bring for the restaurant sector? No one really knows, but we’ve had a stab at making some predictions anyway. Here’s what we think 2024 has in store.

Spaghetti House returns to profit

04-Jan-2024 By Shwetali Sapte

Spaghetti House has reported financial results for the year to 26 March 2023, with turnover rising from the previous year’s £5.3m to £9.8m.

Gino D’Acampo’s restaurant at INNSiDE Manchester Hotel to undergo rebrand

22-Dec-2023 By Joe Lutrario

Gino D’Acampo’s First Street Bar & Kitchen restaurant at INNSiDE Manchester Hotel will change its name to Gino D’Acampo, Manchester early next year following a £800,000 refurbishment.

Victor Lugger: “There was way less interest in the business than I expected”

22-Nov-2023 By Stefan Chomka

Interest in Italian restaurant group Big Mamma fell short of expectations despite the company having a successful 10-year track record that has seen it open 23 restaurants in four countries, its co-founder has revealed.

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

15-Nov-2023 By Joe Lutrario

A café and wine bar inspired by the Puglian city of Lecce will launch in Covent Garden next month.

Purezza acquires plant-based cheesemonger La Fauxmagerie

13-Nov-2023 By James McAllister

Brighton-based vegan pizza brand Purezza has acquired a majority stake in artisanal plant-based cheese manufacturer La Fauxmagerie.

Edinburgh pizzeria Matto to launch third site

10-Nov-2023 By James McAllister

Edinburgh-based Neapolitan pizza brand Matto will launch its third and largest site later this month in the Scottish capital’s Newington neighbourhood on the southside of the city.

Dominic Ford: “We didn't want to buy any Italian restaurant, we wanted to buy this one”

10-Nov-2023 By Joe Lutrario

The duo behind Restaurants Inc. have partnered with David Gleave MW to become the new custodians of Chelsea stalwart Enoteca Turi and its legendary collection of Italian wine.

PizzaExpress to not make an offer for The Restaurant Group

07-Nov-2023 By Restaurant

The owner of PizzaExpress has pulled out of the running for The Restaurant Group (TRG).

Various Eateries tees up plans to expand Noci concept

02-Nov-2023 By James McAllister

Various Eateries says it expects its modern Italian pasta concept Noci to ‘become an increasingly core part of its growth strategy’ following successful openings in Shoreditch and Battersea.

Fraquelli brothers to open third Brasseria restaurant

01-Nov-2023 By James McAllister

The London-based Brasseria Family group will launch a third restaurant in the capital early in the new year.

Latest opening: Paper Moon London

26-Oct-2023 By Restaurant

The Milanese restaurant has chosen The OWO in Whitehall for its debut restaurant on these shores.

Former P Franco chef Mitchell Damota to head up new Italian restaurant Dalla

25-Oct-2023 By Restaurant

A new neighbourhood Italian restaurant is coming to Hackney’s Morning Lane next month.

Latest opening: Daroco Soho

24-Oct-2023 By Restaurant

The Franco-Italian restaurant has swapped Paris’ 2nd and 16th arrondissements for Soho.

'The most significant stage of a magnificent European journey': Big Mamma Group is finally opening in Italy

24-Oct-2023 By Restaurant

French founded Italian restaurant group Big Mamma is making its first move into the country that has inspired its cuisine.

Dez Amore to open sixth London venue

20-Oct-2023 By Restaurant

Street-food concepts Dez Amore and Kings342 are to open in Chelsea as part of the Sloane Stanley Estate.

Hungry like the wolf: Jacob Kenedy on 15 years of Bocca di Lupo

09-Oct-2023 By Joe Lutrario

The Soho restaurant has had a marked impact on London's dining scene over one and a half decades, but its chef-patron still considers himself to be faking it when it comes to Italian cuisine.

Italian brand Indegno to make UK debut in London's Shoreditch

05-Oct-2023 By James McAllister

Fast-casual Italian brand Indegno will make its UK debut next month having secured a site on Brick Lane in London's Shoreditch.

Latest opening: San Carlo Alderley Edge

28-Sep-2023 By Joe Lutrario

The Marcello Distefano-led group has invested a cool £3m into the site that was once home to Gino D’Acampo’s Luciano restaurant.

The Lowdown: Atavi pasta

22-Sep-2023 By Joe Lutrario

One of the world’s most respected and influential chefs has put his name to an innovative new range of luxury pasta.

Gail's investor McWin acquires majority stake in Big Mamma

19-Sep-2023 By James McAllister

McWin, the private equity backer of high street bakery chain Gail's, has acquired a majority stake in French-owned Italian restaurant group Big Mamma.

Stuart Ralston: “Lyla could be my finest hour"

15-Sep-2023 By James McAllister

The Edinburgh-based chef discusses taking on the former site of the late Paul Kitching’s 21212 restaurant, and offering inspiration to younger chefs with his new cookbook.

Botanico to launch in Liverpool’s Woolton Village

13-Sep-2023 By Joe Lutrario

Father and son duo Donato and Antonio Cillo will open an all-day restaurant on the former Il Ristorante by Crust site in Liverpool’s Woolton Village next month.