The smart signage on the facade at 88 St John Street is the first indication of what to expect from Luca, the latest venture from the trio behind the multi award-winning, Michelin starred Clove Club. Inspired by 1950s art deco Italian graphic design and typography, the visual identity created by London-based design studio EverythingInBetween underpins Isaac McHale, Daniel Willis and Johnny Smith’s ‘Britalian’ – Italian dishes made with English ingredients – concept.
Peek behind the bottle green curtains and the devilishly lit bar area, with its Alexander Waterworth sage green leather booths, dark wood floors and a calacatta porcelain bar with mottled back wall tiles will entice you in. Beyond this you’ll find an understated 124-cover dining room with semi open kitchen, where head chef Robert Chambers, formerly of Locanda Locatelli and The Ledbury, cooks up anti pasti pasta and heartier mains in the vein of turnip tops, samphire, smoked cod’s roe and sweet butter and spaghettini with Morecambe Bay shrimps and mace butter. A sampler of cured meats and small plates is available to perch with at the bar.
There are two private dining rooms, one of which doubles as a pasta preparation and demonstration area, ornamented with earthy, neutral-hued tableware, and a leafy courtyard that will provide the perfect spot in which to retire with a house-made Nocino on the rocks, come summer time.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
88 St John Street
-
Audi launches AUDI, a China-only sub-brand, with a handsome new EV conceptThe AUDI E previews a new range of China-specific electric vehicles from the German carmaker’s new local sub-brand
-
Inside Izza Marrakech: A new riad where art and bohemian luxury meetHonouring the late Bill Willis’ hedonistic style, Izza Marrakech fuses traditional Moroccan craftsmanship with the best of contemporary art
-
Clocking on: the bedside analogue timepieces that won’t alarm your aestheticWe track down the only tick-tocks that matter, nine traditional alarm clocks that tell the time with minimum fuss and maximum visual impact
-
First look at Belmond’s new ‘romantic and nostalgic’ luxury trainBelmond introduces the Britannic Explorer, the first high-end sleeper train experience in England and Wales
-
London bar Bauhaus Warehaus is a factory by day, drinking den by nightMixologist of the moment Remy Savage shakes up the world of cocktail-making with a hardworking sibling to A Bar with Shapes for a Name, his Bauhaus-inspired bar enterprise in east London
-
First look at 19 Motcomb Street, Belgravia’s iconic Pantechnicon reinventedFormer Nordic-Japanese design and dining hub Pantechnicon reopens as 19 Motcomb Street with a trio of food and beverage concepts
-
Where to eat Italian food in LondonFrom four-course blow-outs to the perfect pizza , food critic Ben McCormack recommends London's best Italian restaurants to have on your radar
-
Out of office: from Loewe loafers to volcanic views, the Wallpaper* editors' picks of the weekWhat the Wallpaper* team have been eating, seeing, wearing and crucially, enjoying, this week
-
Explore Cornwall's cosiest coffee shopsCornwall is known for its natural beauty and stunning landscape, here is our pick of coffee shops to enjoy the views and refuel
-
Out of office: What the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this weekTeam Wallpaper* are hard to pin down. Here's what our editors have been up to this week that might inspire your own downtime, from films to food, architours to musical interludes
-
First look at Soma 2.0: a new nighttime highlight in east LondonFresh from its Soho roots, this newly opened London bar is set to redefine Canary Wharf’s nightlife – not least with its Indian-flavour-twist cocktails, as Neil Ridley discovers
