Normally, food in museums is about as good as art in restaurants – but this may well be the exception.
Locanda Locatelli opened in 2002, won a Michelin Star within a few months, and kept it for the past two decades. And it’s difficult to convey just how much breathless hype the place generated, and how impactful it was on the Italians-actually-eat-things-other-than-spag-bol awakening in London. A-listers, presidents, and billionaires all dined there on the regular. It was the place to eat.
Then, quite abruptly, it closed earlier this year. Chef/owner Giorgio Locatelli explains cryptically that it was for “reasons out of his control,” so feel free to make up your own conspiracy theory. But whatever the case, it meant that there was a hyper-talented Italian restaurant legend milling around at a loose end – and now he’s been snapped up by the National Gallery.
Locatelli at the National Gallery is set to be the headline act when the newly refurbished Sainsbury Wing reopens on May 10th. And just in case you need a brief refresher on your postmodernist architecture, the Sainsbury Wing is the deliberately incongruous modern extension that abuts the stately neoclassical shape of the main building on the edge of Trafalgar Square.
So what to expect? Well, it’ll be a sizeable affair, with space for 80 pasta-craving early Renaissance nerds, plus a coffee place called Bar Giorgio, which will be sliding espresso & cream-stuffed maritozzi brioche buns across the counter. As for the main restaurant, it’ll be a seasonal Italian affair (shocker, we know) with the likes of pappardelle with broad beans, pecorino & rucola; braised veal ravioli with parsley gremolata; and ribeyes with aubergine, red onion & cherry toms.
Oh, and the artwork? It’ll include Paula Rego’s Crivelli’s Garden, a piece that was first hung on the walls of the original National Gallery restaurant when it first opened in 1991.
NOTE: Locatelli at the National Gallery will open on May 10th, along with the entire refurbished Sainsbury Wing. We’ll be back then with the full scoop. In the meantime, you can keep an eye on their Insta page.
Locatelli At The National Gallery | Trafalgar Square, SW1Y 5BS
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