Italians: avert your eyes because a new restaurant proudly serving carbonara made with cream (gasp!) is on the horizon. Imagined by Alex Purdie — formerly on the pans at Bouchon Racine and Bocca di Lupo — and hospitality maestro Richard Crampton-Platt, Café Britaly will be a love letter to the many ways the British have reimagined Italian classics to match our, er, unique tastes.
It opens in early spring, and Crampton-Platt says the duo were inspired by London’s Italian-run British cafés, which ‘have such a precious historic charm’, and hope to combine the ‘spirit of Italian adventure, diversity and creativity with the tastes, comfort and humour of the British’.
The result, he says, will include ‘no irony, disrespect, combative nationalism or authorised recipes’. Instead, expect ‘a sprinkle of retro-glamour, nostalgic tinges, warmth and community’. Alongside the controversial carbonara, on the menu you’ll find a deep fried pizza as well as zuppa inglese — a mix between trifle and tiramisu — which the friends ‘hope will excite but also soothe’. The definition of down to earth, Crampton-Platt says: ‘If a dish is too challenging or avant-garde, we’ve gone too far.’ We’ll salute to that.
