The revival of the City is set to step up a level as a new, huge, 180-seater restaurant opens on Billiter Street, in the building that once housed the London Shipping Exchange.
Called Campanelle — “little bells” in Italian, but also a type of pasta named for bellflowers — the restaurant will launch on Thursday July 24, from restaurateur Ninai Zarach, who has long been familiar with the area. Zarach operates Canto Corvino nearby, as well as one of her two Manicomio restaurants; the other is in Chelsea.
Campanelle will be an all-day operation, opening for breakfast and coffees before offering both lunch and dinner service. As the name suggests, it will be an Italian operation, though not one tied to a particular style or region. Breakfast will offer the likes of eggs Benedict with prosciutto di Parma or an egg yolk omelette with mushrooms and spinach; for lunch, the likes of parmigiana di melanzana and calamari e gamberi.
Dinner service appears to be the same, but with more substantial dishes including tiger prawn, scallop and squid spiedino, and a 45-day dry-aged beef ribeye covered with summer truffle. Something of a signature for the restaurant will be a salt crusted wild seabass, which will be opened and dished tableside, and the pasta that gives the restaurant its name. Puddings will include familiar Italian favourites, such as tiramisu and an Amalfi lemon meringue tart.
Cocktails will largely focus on Italian favourites, but the wine list will be more international, and a separate wine room will include bottles from across the globe.
Most notable about the restaurant is its size; Campanelle will be set over two stories, and as well as the main dining areas will have the aforementioned wine room, a private dining room, and an all-weather, 44-seater terrace. The project harks back to the City confidence of old, when grand dining rooms — such as the celebrated and longstanding One Lombard Street — were en vogue and packed out all day.
“We are delighted to be bringing the wonders of Italy to the heart of London. The area is vibrant and filled with such an incredible history, and we cannot wait to be part of its community and welcome our guests in,” said Zarach of the opening. “Italy has a charm and spirit to it which is unmatched, with such an abundance of beautiful produce and ingredients too, and we are looking forward to bringing these flavours to our guests, old and new.”
Other sizeable openings in the City of late include Japanese-Mexican hybrid Los Mochis and The Wolseley City.
Campanelle will open on Thursday July 24 at 19-21 Billiter Street, EC3M 2RY. For more information, visit campanelle.co.uk
