Toto’s intends to be a classical Italian restaurant that offers a modern twist. The vast redesign has seen the old building undergo large changes in a bid to breathe a fresh lease of life into the site.
Silvano Giraldin, who worked as Maitre d’ at Le Gavroche for 30 years, has been working as mentor and consultant on the project to redesign Toto’s. He was responsible for appointing the restaurant’s general manager Enrico Molino, who also worked at Le Gavroche, and assembling the kitchen and service teams.
Extensive redesign
The Italian restaurant has undergone a complete multi-million remodel which has taken two years and left the venue completely changed.
Giraldin told BigHospitality: “Everything has been gutted out and everything is new, but we tried to respect the name of Toto’s. It was an iconic Italian restaurant once when I was young and first came to England; we wanted to reinvigorate the name.”
It was important to the team that the redesign respected and restored the old historical details of the listed building. Features such as the original wine cellar and double-height ceilings have been retained, and the old oak fireplace has been preserved to create a centre piece in the dining room. Newer touches have been incorporated too, including Marble finishes, oak parquet flooring, jali-style screens and balustrades.
The restaurant also includes a garden courtyard which will be utilised by customers during the day for eating and drinking. The bar will feature a wooden humidor with a selection of 20 cigars, which can be enjoyed by customers outside.
Classical Italian fare
Toto’s will offer classical Italian dishes made using seasonal produce, and use local suppliers that the head chef has worked with for a while. The wine list will be vast with about 250 different wine choices from all regions of Italy, alongside sparkling wines and champagnes.
Giraldin said: “Our dishes will be very classic. We’ll have a couple of soups and two or three beautiful risottos and about ten different pastas, all classical Italian. We’ll try to take advantage of the season. We’ve also got a nice grill so we’ll be using that for fish and meat, just like how food would be cooked in Italy.”
The restaurant itself sits about 35-40 people, with space for 15 more on the mezzanine which overlooks the dining room.
When asked to describe what sort of atmosphere the restaurant will offer, Giraldin said: “Toto’s will be beautiful, and it’s a size which is very intimate. The atmosphere will be cosy and trendy at the same time.”
Toto’s is located at Walton House on Walton Street and will open in May.