Restaurant from Hambleton Hall chef and “The Mafia’s Banker” opens in London

The Golborne Road site comes from entrepreneur, author and former Wall Street financier, Luca Longobardi, who was once held in a South American jail for 30 days as part of a Brazilian crackdown on international banks. Although exonerated, Longobardi went on to abandon finance for food (writing a bestseller about his experiences and gaining the nickname “The Mafia’s Banker” in the process).

Former Hambleton Hall chef Chris Denney, who became involved with the venture after seeing Longobardi’s advert on classified adverts website Gumtree, has created the menu for 108 Garage, focusing on often-overlooked cuts and ingredients, to produce contemporary dishes that aim to be modern, fresh-flavoured, seasonal, and texturally interesting.

Denney’s career has included working with high-profile chefs including John Campbell, Eric Chavot, Phil Howard, and Enrico Crippa.    

The new day-to-night site is named 108 Garage thanks to its location in an actual former garage ‒ which Longobardi chose thanks to its connotations of “research and repair”‒ and aims to offer a bright, relaxed atmosphere with an “eclectic mix” of furnishings to “soften its raw, industrial roots”.

The London site is hoped to be the first in a series of international 108 Garage openings, with Denney and Longobardi already confirming their aim to convert a New York laundry, an LA hardware store, and a Miami drugstore.