Called Osteria Panzano, it will be Waney’s first Italian restaurant project and will bring the cuisine and hospitality of Tuscany to William Street.
The 100-cover restaurant is described by Waney, who is one of the UK’s most successful restaurateurs, as his ‘last legacy’ project, marking a more personal chapter in his career.
Unlike the high-energy, experience-led concepts for which Waney has become synonymous, including contemporary Japanese restaurant Zuma, which he co-founded in 2002 with chef Rainer Becker, Osteria Panzano is said to represent a return to traditional hospitality, inspired by his longstanding connection to Tuscany, where he owns a home and produces his own olive oil and sangiovese wine.
The restaurant is named after Panzano, a hilltop village in Chianti between Florence and Siena known for its butchers, vineyards and traditional osterias. Waney owns a tenuta in Tuscany, and the idea came from wanting to bring the produce, cooking and conviviality of the region home to London.
The dining room will centre on open-fire cooking with a rotisserie and grill and will serve a seasonally-changing menu celebrating Tuscan ingredients, provenance and simplicity.
Tuscany-born head chef Paolo Parlanti will lead the kitchen and oversee a menu that will include dishes such as chicken and quail roasted on the rotisserie as well as cacio e pepe finished with black truffle; yellowfin tuna tartare with avocado and crispy shallots; and roast turbot fillet with braised herb potatoes, alongside whole fish and aged steaks cooked over open coals.
There will also be a cheese and charcuterie offer selling Tuscan salumi and regional cheeses, to eat in the restaurant or take home.
“Food is a journey, and for me that journey has taken me from Japan to Peru, to France and back to London. Having opened restaurants celebrating each of these destinations, Zuma and ROKA for Japan, COYA for Peru and LPM for France, I felt that one important piece was missing: a truly phenomenal Italian restaurant,” says Waney.
“Osteria Panzano is my opportunity to celebrate the food, wine and spirit of Tuscany. I wanted to create a place where people could come together, dine well, enjoy great wine and experience the incredible simplicity and quality of authentic Tuscan ingredients and homegrown produce from the region.”
Intended as a neighbourhood restaurant as much as a destination, the interiors for Osteria Panzano have been designed by David D’Almada of London studio Sagrada. A private dining room will have a brick-vaulted ceiling, and there will be a bar serving cocktails and Italian aperitive, as well as a terrace for eating outside.
“It’s about bringing that genuine Tuscan experience to London: warm, generous and full of life,” adds Waney.
“I think the restaurant is going to be fantastico!”