Italian restaurant group San Carlo is to launch an eponymous new site in one of London’s most original and compelling neighbourhoods.
The 130-cover San Carlo will open on Regent Street St James’s in May.
The kitchen will be headed by internationally renowned Italian chef Alberico Penati, whose illustrious career includes Ristorante Carpaccio, the first Italian restaurant in France to win a Michelin star; Harry’s Bar at Annabel’s and Alberico at Aspinalls. Continuing his long association with entrepreneur Robin Birley, he subsequently opened the exclusive private members’ club, 5 Hertford Street, in Mayfair.
One of the UK’s most successful restaurant brands, San Carlo Group Restaurants is owned by the Distefano family. The company now owns 20 restaurants in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Leeds and Leicester and two in Qatar and Bangkok. Flagship sites include Signor Sassi Knightsbridge and Cicchetti Piccadilly.
Managing Director Marcello Distefano said: “The Crown Estate’s £500 million investment in the St James’s area has already attracted some of the best names in international cuisine and we are delighted to be a part of this. The fact that we will also be working with Alberico Penati, one of the great Italian chefs, makes this new venture even more exciting.”