OPENING FEBRUARY 2020
It’s a brave Italian restaurant operator that launches its first international location on a site that has seen several Italian ventures open and close in quick succession. But then not every Italian restaurant operator can trace its history back 120 years to when it first opened in Milan.
This London outpost of Giannino Dal 1899 is situated at 10 Blenheim Street, most recently home to Camillo Benso, which shut up shop just one year after opening. The refined and chic interiors by Italian architectural studio Spagnulo & Partners have been designed to reflect the prestige of the Milanese institution with an aesthetic that’s both striking and welcoming.
Giuseppe Varrella, general manager of Giannino Dal 1899 Milan, comments, “Since we first had the idea, we always wanted to make sure that if we ever expanded internationally, our venues would maintain the same level of class and refinement, while still effectively melting into the fine-dining London scene.”
The menu sees many of the dishes that have become loved and celebrated in Milan transported to London by executive chef Salvatore Suzzi, whose signature style sees innovative contemporary flourishes added to traditional Italian dishes.
Favourites from the restaurant in Milan include babà di lasagne al ragù napoletano – a perfect blend of flavours from the north and south of Italy – and spaghetti aglio with olio e pepperoncino – the classic garlic and chilli pasta dish luxed up with the addition of Mazara del Vallo red prawns.
As for the homemade desserts, Suzzi recommends the orange cannoncini with namelaka cream and raspberry sauce, “a reinterpretation of the traditional Sicilian dessert, to which is added a soft cream typical of the Japanese tradition.”
With dishes inspired by traditional Italian home-cooking, Giannino Dal 1899 hopes its second home in London will be loved every bit as much as its first.