Caparossa Italian restaurant set for UK debut in Putney
The 2,544 sq.ft site will offer 85 internal and 50 external covers and will open on the former Tootsies unit adjacent to Carluccio’s. The food concept will be based around traditional Italian cuisine with a bias to meat sourced from British farms.
“The owners visited the UK three years ago and were very upset by the unrepresentative nature of many Italian restaurants,” Caparossa’s UK project manager Phil Morton told BigHospitality. “They feel that there needs to be a renaissance of Italian cuisine in the UK.”
True taste of Italy
La Fattoria del Campiglione is a meat-only Italian restaurant in Naples which has been open for 16 years. Nicola Buona, the man behind that restaurant, will be chef/patron of Caparossa, while Giuseppe Aprea will be general manager.
“’Caparossa’ was chosen for the name of the restaurant as it is Buono’s dad’s nickname,” added Morton. “It means ‘Red Head’, as his father was red-haired which was unusual for the south of Italy.
“This project has now been two years in the making and we hope to open our doors in the middle of November. We are really excited to be bringing a true taste of Italy to London and, along with the quality of our food, we will have many surprises in our offering that we hope will keep the dining public coming back for more.
“If Caparossa has the success we expect, we aim to expand slowly into a small group of four or five restaurants. We do not want to grow too quickly or lose control of our gastronomic aims. Our three most important tenets are quality, quality and quality!”
Glass-fronted cellar
The interior of Caparossa will feature a temperature-controlled cured meat display cabinet and a glass-fronted cellar facing the seating area, showcasing around 1,500-2,000 bottles of wine.
The menu at Caparossa will include shared starters of hams, salamis and cheeses, Neapolitan fried pizza, battered vegetables, and fried rice balls. Mains will feature traditional South-Italian pasta dishes with authentic sauces, and UK-sourced pork and beef. All deserts and pastries will be homemade on the premises.
Morton also revealed that the new restaurant could be a job opportunity for local chefs and waiters. “Jobs will be open to all who fit our criteria. Anyone who works for Caparossa must love Italian food and want to pass their love of Italian food on to others. There are no half measures in this regard.”
The restaurant in Naples will continue to run as normal. Property advisors Selsian brokered the deal for the new site on behalf of Caparossa.
