By Josh Barrie

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The celebrated Italian chef Francesco Mazzei will open his new London restaurant in November, the Standard can reveal, after more than two years away.

Called Mezzogiorno — a term used to describe the south of Italy — and housed in the Corinthia hotel near Trafalgar Square, the restaurant will be rooted in Mazzei’s Calabrian heritage and the classic recipes he grew up eating.

The chef told the Standard the menu will use the best of British and Italian produce, while dishes will rarely use more than three or four ingredients.

“London is an amazing city, you can eat just about anything and the produce, food and chefs here are all fantastic,” he said.

“But if you look around, there aren’t many places serving true, authentic Italian dishes any more, especially those from the south. I’ll be cooking the dishes my nonna used to, but of course we’ll take inspiration from all over Italy because there are magical flavours to be found all over the country. And using lots of amazing British ingredients… ricotta from Devon, fish from Cornwall.

“I feel I have a responsibility to go back to my roots and serve the simple dishes that made Italian food so popular here in the first place. Please, do not deconstruct the tiramisu.”

The menu will include dishes such as Scottish crab with panzanella, Umbrian white truffle torelli, bistecca alla Fiorentina, and the “four pastas of Rome” — cacio e pepe, gricia, carbonara and amatriciana.

As for Mazzei’s family dishes, or the hyper-regional classics from Calabria, there’ll be filei — hollow tubes similar to bucatini — with a “small pork rib ragu”, and pipi cruschi, or dried red chilli pan fried into crisps.

“These aren’t found in London today,” Mazzei added. “The pork dish is full of tomatoes, it’s so comforting. Have it with a Barolo. And the chilli, you see them hanging up in towns around Southern Italy. I want to transport those flavours and smells to London.”

Mazzei moved to London in 1996 and most recently oversaw Italian restaurants for D&D London (now known as Evolv), earning plaudits at the likes of Sartoria and Fiume. He left the group after seven years in 2023 to “rest, travel and spend time in the Mediterranean”.

News that the chef would make a comeback broke late last year, though details about the project were kept under wraps. He returned to cooking in Britain in January this year, collaborating with Stanley Tucci to design a menu for a dinner hosted by the King. The event paid tribute to longstanding Anglo-Italian relations and the slow food movement.

Mazzei said he can’t wait to get back into the kitchen again: “I needed a break, but I was bored quite quickly. I need to cook. I don’t care about all the talk or superstar chefs. I need to be in the kitchen, rolling up my sleeves. And I will be at Mazzogiorno almost every day. Diners will come into the kitchen before sitting down. We’ll all be there.

“It’ll be about that sort of structured chaos we have in Italy. The best seat in the house will be Francesco’s Table. That’ll be like a trattoria in the south of Italy. You’ll just have what I give you — antipasti, primi, secondi, everything.

“I want the restaurant to feel like my home: generous, lively, fun. And everyone can talk about the Scottish seafood, the Welsh lamb, the beautiful cheeses from the West Country.”

Mazzei’s new place will be found in the former Northall Restaurant on the ground floor of the Corinthia, which has undergone a redesign by Afroditi studio, which reimagined the space as a stonewashed palazzo with marble, silk fabrics and stucco walls.

“We wanted to work with Francesco Mazzei to create something joyful, vibrant, and rooted in family traditions; something that resonates deeply with us as a proudly family-owned hotel,” said general manager Charlotte Weatherall.

“We are delighted to welcome Francesco and look forward to guests experiencing the warmth of his Calabrian hospitality here.”

Mezzogiorno by Francesco Mazzei will open in November 2025. Reservations open on 15 October; corinthia.com