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Giorgio Locatelli to open National Gallery restaurant and café
Giorgio Locatelli is due to open a new restaurant at London’s National Gallery in May after he closed his Michelin-starred Locanda Locatelli at the beginning of this year.
The closure of Locanda Locatelli in the West End in January of this year came about due to “reasons beyond our control,” according to a statement from the restaurant. Having operated for 23 years, the restaurant received critical praise and in 2003, just a year after opening, a coveted Michelin Star.
However, Locatelli and his wife and business partner Plaxy Locatelli have already announced their next venture, which will see the pair open a restaurant and café in the Sainsbury Wing of London’s National Gallery, situated adjacent to Trafalgar Square, this May.
Called ‘Locatelli’, the restaurant will, according to publicity from the National Gallery, “offer a unique chance to experience Giorgio’s celebrated Italian cooking through a menu reflecting the history and creativity of our building and the paintings within”.
Furthermore, the foyer of the Sainsbury Wing will also include Café Giorgio, an Italian-inspired coffee bar which will also serve maritozzi – sweetened buns filled with whipped cream which are a popular accompaniment to espresso, especially in Rome.
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The Grade I-listed Sainsbury Wing, which was constructed in 1991, has been under refurbishment since early 2023. It is due to reopen in May, meaning that it will be able to take visitors for the latter half of the National Gallery’s bicentenary year.
Cultural connection
This will not be Locatelli’s first time dabbling in the world of fine art. He co-presented the BBC’s …Unpacked series alongside art historian and writer Andrew Graham-Dixon. Starting with Sicily Unpacked in 2012, then with several series of Italy Unpacked, and concluding with Rome Unpacked in 2018, the duo travelled across Locatelli’s home country, discovering the artistic and culinary treasures in each region.
Perhaps fittingly, the promotional photo for the announcement of Locatelli’s new restaurant features him standing in front of a painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, the ill-tempered baroque artist who himself was the subject of an acclaimed biography by Graham-Dixon.
The arrival of Locatelli at the National Gallery is a move similar to when Richard Corrigan opened his contemporary British eatery The Portrait at the nearby National Portrait Gallery in summer 2023.
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