Called Legare - meaning ‘to bind’ in Italian - the 35-cover neighbourhood restaurant in Shad Thames will be located next to river close to London Bridge station.
It will serve a broadly Italian menu featuring a short, changing menu of antipasti and fresh pasta hand-made daily in-house. Antipasti options will include fett’unta of goats curd and sobrasada; a daily crudo offering dictated by the day-boat; and seasonal oysters while pasta dishes will include tajarin with ‘burro e salvia’ (butter and sage); semolina-based pastas from southern Italy including orecchiette with fennel sausage and swiss chard ragu; and stracci with crab, chilli, garlic, saffron and pangrattato. It will also offer a whole large Scottish lobster taglierini dish for two to share.
Legare will have a ‘short and carefully curated drinks list’ developed by sommelier Cameron Dewar. Options will include natural and low intervention wines from small producers who follow ethical farming practices, with a focus on Italian production and some interesting bottles from neighbouring countries.
“The restaurant draws inspiration from the places Matt and I have worked at and travelled. We are not an out-and-out classic Italian restaurant, and do not pertain to be,” says Patel.
“Our aim has always been to find the most delicious produce, farmed in the most sustainable ways, from various farmers across Europe - and use those ingredients to create our version of the Italian food we love to eat. Having lived in South London all my life, I feel a sense of pride in opening Legare south of the river.”