What: An Italian restaurant and wine bar that’s taken over the site on Frith Street in Soho that most recently acted as a temporary home for Singaporean restaurant Rasa Sayang. Billed as offering a slice of ‘pure Italiano’, Negroni’s aims to offer ‘an imperfect mix of yelling, loving, eating and drinking’.
Who: Negroni’s is the new opening from Ruben Maza, Joel Placeres, Roberto Castro and Ruben Cortes, the four restaurateurs behind Lobos Tapas, which has a restaurant on Frith Street almost directly opposite Negroni’s; and a second in Borough. The quartet met some years ago while working together at Brindisa and launched Lobos in partnership with Singaporean restaurateur Ellen Chew – the founder of Rasa Sayang. Chew is the founder of the Chew On This restaurant group, and is also involved in the launch of Negroni’s. The kitchen is being overseen by Puglia-born chef Filippo Ragone, who previously worked his way up to head chef of O’Ver in London Bridge and launched Ostuni in Highate.
The food: Ragone’s menu features a selection of small and large sharing plates, served alongside a range of pasta and pizza dishes. Sharing dishes include pan-fried scallops with butternut squash purée and guanciale; grilled octopus with courgette and mint cream; truffle burrata with prosciutto ham; and grilled lamb chops with broccoli, mash potato and lamb jus reduction. There are five pasta dishes including a ‘signature’ gnocchi with blue cheese reduction, radicchio, guanciale and walnuts; and a truffle cacio e pepe. Pizzas are made in a custom oven with six options that include one with San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella, spicy spianata and nduja; and another with butternut squash cream, pecorino Romano, pork sausage, confit cherry tomatoes and smoked mozzarella. Desserts include canolo scomposto; classic tiramisu; and a selection of gelati and sorbetti. Prices are pitched similarly to those at Lobos, with dishes ranging between £5 and £32.
The drink: As the name suggests, the cocktail list features five house negronis, including a casa negroni; Americano; and espresso negroni. There’s also a non-alcoholic ‘nongroni’, alongside a selection of classic Italian cocktails. Elsewhere, there is a wine list selected by Peter McCombie, and a small range of bottled beers.
The vibe: The long, L-shaped space has been overseen by Design MAD and features dark wooden floors, exposed brick walls and low, atmospheric lighting. There are 70 covers for eating and drinking spread across the bar area at the front, open-plan kitchen in the middle and the dining area in the back.
And another thing: Chew is arguably one of the busiest restaurateurs in the capital right now. She has also just launched her a second Shan Shui restaurant at Heathrow Airport, following the success of its debut site at Bicester Village; with a third expected to launch in the London Victoria area later this year. Meanwhile, she’s also exploring expansion options for her fledgling Mrs Chew’s Chinese Kitchen concept; and also understood to be lining up a second site for Arôme, the Asian-influenced bakery concept she launched at The Yards in Covent Garden in partnership with pâtissier Alix Andre in 2020.
15 Frith St, London W1D 4RE