Set to open later this year on Glasshouse Street in Soho, BOLO takes its name from the Italian chef’s signature bolognese recipe.
The intimate 32-cover restaurant, located next to a Prezzo Italian, will serve a pared-back menu of traditional Italian dishes.
It will be the 77-year-old’s first restaurant since the closure of Passione in Fitzrovia in 2009 following 10 years of trading.
Born in Campania, Contaldo was an early mentor to Jamie Oliver.
The pair met in the 1990s at Antonio Carluccio’s Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden, where Contaldo was a senior chef and Oliver worked as a pastry chef.
Contaldo’s official biography rather expansively describes him as the man who taught Oliver “all he knows about Italian cooking”.
Contaldo subsequently appeared in several of Oliver’s television programmes, beginning with The Naked Chef, and later helped develop recipes and train chefs for the Jamie’s Italian restaurant group.
“I’m so excited to be opening a restaurant in central London again,” says Contaldo. “It’s going to be a small, busy, buzzy trattoria serving some of my favourite dishes, from a hearty bolognese ragù to Amalfi Coast-inspired dishes such as lemon tagliolini and seafood pasta.
“I can’t wait to feed you all and welcome you to my new home, BOLO.”
“Like millions of people, we’ve been inspired by Gennaro’s infectious enthusiasm, extraordinary talent and genuine passion for Italian cooking,” says James Brown, CEO of Brava Hospitality Group.
“He has spent decades sharing not just incredible food, but the warmth, generosity and joy at the heart of Italian hospitality. Creating a restaurant together felt like a natural next step, and there couldn’t be a better home for BOLO than Soho.”
Brava Hospitality Group is also behind the UK relaunch of Jamie’s Italian, which returned in March following a seven-year absence.
The revived brand’s first restaurant is a 140-cover, three-storey site in London’s Leicester Square, launched through a partnership between Brava and Jamie Oliver Restaurants.
The pair have agreed to open as many as 40 sites over 10 years, although further expansion will depend on the performance of the flagship.