The top line: Taking over the space at the Westminster hotel that was once Northall, Mezzogiorno marks the return to London restaurants for much-loved Calabrian chef Francesco Mazzei. The chef is known for his cooking at restaurants such as L’Anima in the City and Sartoria on Savile Row but has more recently been behind Francesco Mazzei at Villa Corinthia in Malta. Now Corinthia hotel group has brought his cooking back to London - although Mazzei never actually left the capital for any meaningful period of time - for a restaurant that serves southern Italian food that leans heavily into British ingredients.
On the menu: Mazzei is largely credited with popularising ’nduja in the UK after partnering with Pizza Express to put the fiery Calabrian sausage on its pizzas some 15 years ago, and so it’s no surprise to see ‘hot’nduja’ appear on the snacks section of the menu. What is more surprising that the word hot does in this case does not refer to chill heat - with the sausage served in a bowl placed above a candle to gently warm it. Thus the tone is set for a menu that gently surprises and delights with a large selection of seafood antipasto that includes octopus ragu; Orkney scallops with ’nduja (naturally) honey and limone di rocca; and red shrimps alongside hand-chopped beef with anchovies and black truffle; and ricottina with pickled tropea onion. Beyond that there’s a comprehensive pasta section that includes the like of taglioni with native blue lobster sauce; and a ham and parmesan tortellini with marsala chicken broth. That said, the most striking pasta dish is Mazzei’s Calabrian lasagne that features meatballs, fried aubergines, spinach and pork ragu, with the Italian chef reasoning that if you’re going to serve lasagne it should be a version with which people might be less familiar. Save room for Zia Maria’s polpetta, a whopping three-meat meatball, and the equally giant portion of classic tiramisu.
The vibe: Hotel restaurants of this size, while impressive, can often feel removed from the kitchen and the chefs, but not so at Mezzogiorno. Here you are greeted by Mazzei and his team as you pass through the reception area, with a busy kitchen to the left that is more than just for show and a high table in the centre around which guests can sit and watch the chefs in action (Mazzei says the table has already become highly sought out). Then, before you enter the bright and spacious dining room, there’s the added bonus of walking past a pasta making section where you can see the craftsmanship at work. The main room itself, with its eight-metre-high ornate ceiling and columns, has a similar feel to when it was Northall - comfortable and relaxed - but which effortlessly draws inspiration from the baroque palazzos of Puglia such is its scale.
And another thing: Fans of Mazzei will recognise the name Mezzogiorno, which appears in the title of his excellent cookbook Mezzogiorno: Francesco Mazzei Recipes from Southern Italy, which was published in 2015.
10a Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5AE / corinthia.com/en-gb/london/Mezzogiorno