London doesn't exactly lack Italian restaurants, but when it comes to actually good ones, well, that's another story. Not to sound like the most demanding of European expats, but since relocating to the British capital from Italy in 2020, I have only ever found a very few eateries able to replicate the balance of flavorsomeness, freshness, and essential simplicity that serves as the grounding principle of Italian cuisine. Even today, I can count them on the fingers of one hand, and Locatelli at the National Gallery, the recently inaugurated restaurant Michelin-starred Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli co-founded with his wife Plaxy, has just become one of them.
Launched early last month to coincide with the grand reopening of the museum's Sainsbury Wing, which gained a sleek, bright, and dynamic new look following a two-year, £85mn restoration led by Selldorf Architects and a thorough rehang of its 300-piece painting collection, Locatelli at the National Gallery has instantly earned itself a mention in the next instalment of my curated edit of the best restaurants in London. Just like it's the harmonious fusion of different ingredients that makes a plate, this, too, is down to multiple reasons.
First, but only by order of appearance, comes its surprising, ablaze with people, location. When my colleague and I arrive at the National Gallery on a Wednesday morning, the new establishment by the former Head Chef and mastermind behind Locanda Locatelli — a star-studded, discreet Marylebone locale that, between 2002 and January this year, when it shut permanently, fed anyone from Lucian Freud and Bill Clinton to Madonna, Brad Pitt, Kate Winslet, and Gwyneth Paltrow — has only been operating for ten days, this lunch service being the eleventh to take place within the iconic Trafalgar Square art museum.
As we make our way to the information point at the heart of its Sainsbury Wing entrance, crowds of strutting intellectuals, globetrotting young tourists, and families with kids in tow all mix and blend animatedly under the sinuous glassy mezzanine space that houses Locatelli one floor above.
Tucked away in a corner on ground level, the red, stylized sign of Bar Giorgio — the snacky sibling to the restaurant, conceived, like the eatery itself, by design studio LXA, and serving piping hot espresso in branded Locatelli cups, along with small savory bites and cream-filled maritozzi brioche buns — stands out against the mirrored walls, petrol-green marble, and matte chrome paneling of its retro-futuristic counter. Even at first glance, I am immediately reminded of the frozen-in-time, 1950s' atmosphere of Bar Basso, a style-set beloved institution and one of the most legendary bars in Milan. Only Bar Giorgio feels younger, even more uninhibited, and fun, much like the Milanese hangout's 2019 3daysofdesign pop-up.
Though the Bar Basso reference might be completely coincidental, my conversation with the chef, who discovered his love of cooking while spending time at the family restaurant his uncle ran on the banks of Lake Comabbio in Vergiate, northern Italy, betrays a sense of nostalgia.
For Locatelli, whose numerous TV appearances — my introduction to him came from watching him judge aspiring cooks on Masterchef Italia, a role he has served in the UK as well, on BBC's The Big Family Cooking Showdown and E4's Celeb Cooking School — and culinary books have, together with his gastronomic recognition, made him somewhat of a celebrity himself, "this is a completely new chapter," he tells me. When developing the concept for Locatelli at the National Gallery, "Plaxy and I tried not to establish a destination restaurant, as Locanda Locatelli was, but a service restaurant with very high standards of hospitality".
A great deal of the inspiration behind it, it seems, came from the chef taking stock of his decades-spanning career, and from the realization of what had, perhaps, gone lost to it along the way. "Locatelli reflects my life experience with Italian food and my need for simplicity," he explains. "I always say I cook the food I want to eat. And at 63 years old, I like to eat simple food with no frills, but conviviality at the center — something that's really dear to me."
Whether in the menu or the linearly beautiful decor, this vision pervades the eatery. Locatelli's aspiration toward simplicity, which the chef describes as the ultimate aim of his latest venture, is the second aspect of the restaurant that, I feel, makes it a particularly refreshing addition to the London scene. The atmosphere, set by sprawling, retro-inspired arched banquettes in sandy velvet and leather upholstery, Scandinavian design wooden chairs, and sheeny marble tables, evokes the communion, lightheartedness, and optimism of old-style business lunches, where one too many drinks arouse laughter. Equally, it provides a cocooning spot for more intimate gatherings and special occasions.
Still, the food alone would be enough for Locatelli at the National Gallery to be worthwhile. A true feast, my three-course meal, including some of Italy's most beloved staples, leaves me as (pleasantly) full as my nonno's Sunday lunches used to, a beaming smile stamped on my face at every bite. Here, it's the freshness and the quality of the ingredients that count. Be it not for the murmur of people chitchatting all around me, I would no longer tell the difference between the mezzanine I am sitting in and my parents' own living room, as the genuine flavors brought to life by the chef's offerings are enough to take me back.
The saltiness of the Parma ham, left slightly thicker than normal to allow diners to make the most of its nutty notes, and served as a starter on crunchy pears drizzled in olive oil and Balsamic vinegar, is counterbalanced to perfection by our second entrée choice: an indulgent, soft-hearted burrata, sat on a bed of crisp broad beans, peas, and artichokes, and mint. The Calamarata pasta, topped with toasted almonds and taggiasca olives, packs the taste of the sea into a melt-in-your-mouth, silky, and heartwarming plate that speaks of anticipated family reunions, as does the earthy Pollo alla Cacciatora, glazed in a luscious blend of baked tomatoes, vegetables, and, yes, even zingier Taggiasche, all paired with a slice of golden, fried polenta.
The iconic bar at Locatelli at the National Gallery, whose bronze countertop expands on the sunsets filtering through the glassy structure of the museum's Sainsbury Wing.
To my right-hand side, taking over one of the eatery's walls in its entirety, is Paula Rego's Crivelli's Garden, a ten-meters-wide and two-meters-high immersive mural originally commissioned for the National Gallery's dining room, which weaves multiple tales of women from the Bible, folklore, as well as the artist's own experiences together into an entrancing, timeless, and multifaceted exploration of womanhood. I wonder how much the chef's immersion in the museum's art, whether direct or vicarious, has got to do with the vibrancy and layeredness of his latest creations.
"I tend to walk around the National Gallery for 10 minutes before I start in the kitchen," Locatelli confesses. "It's hard to bridge the beauty of art to food, but the colors often inspire me." Surrounding himself with the institution’s masterpieces — from Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus (1601) and Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers (1888) to history-defining canvases by Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, and Turner — is, in itself, therapeutic. "I feel more relaxed after looking at the paintings," the chef adds. "Though I am not an artist — I am an artisan."
It is a statement that gets me thinking about the difference between fine arts — a pursuit of self-expression, largely centered around a specific visual canon and themes one resonates with — and craftsmanship, where looks aren't enough, but objects are also required to fulfil a specific purpose; a function. Presented with the breadth of the National Gallery's collection, "people are very visually stimulated before or after their visit to the restaurant; what we aim to do is stimulate the other senses," says Locatelli. Not that the eatery strives to simply entertain. Ask me, and I'd say its objective is much closer to the heart, as revealed the chef's answer to my final question. "My favorite dish on the menu? The Tagliatelle al Ragù — it reminds me of when I was a child".
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