To walk into Mayfair restaurant Il Gattopardo is to step back in time to 1950’s Italy when the country was at a height of opulent design. Located on Mayfair’s Albemarle Street, Il Gattopardo represents a classic Italian take on its Golden age with an interior inspired by Gio Ponti and Carlo Mollino’s apartment in Turin.
Mayfair's Il Gattopardo celebrates Italian design
The restaurant the exterior is a perfect execution of the fashionable ‘quiet luxury’ lifestyle, forming an effortlessly chic entrance and outdoor seating, with dark glossy wood and gold detailing.
Upon entrance you feel part of an old Hollywood set design, with timeless décor and rich textures. Il Gattopardo meaning ‘The Leopard’ in Italian, provides subtle hints throughout the interior via carefully painted blue leopard motifs peering around each wall.
Although the interior seemingly emulates luxury, Parisian design duo Dion & Arles intertwined the seduction and frivolity of bygone Italian summers, blending classical design references with mid-century modernism.
Overhead, hanging vines with a vineyard colour palette embrace the geometric wall design, with the mirrored ceilings elongating the area as if on a Mediterranean veranda. The angled skylights allow for a slice of light in this cosy setting, perfect for extended lunches that drift into the late afternoon.
The heart of the restaurant reflects typical Italian family values shown by the soft furnishing and grouped tables, garnished with individual lamps casting a centrepiece of warm lighting. Each table topped with sepia drawings inspired by artist Piero Fornasetti, expands the intimate attention to detail.
Nonetheless, the sophisticated Italian stone topped Crudo bar occupying a corner, is the pinnacle of 1950s exuberance, with dark wood fittings mimicking the dashboard of a vintage Fiat coupé, and frosted glass dividers allow for an intimate setting.
For a more private dining experience head down the staircase, lit up by a handmade stained-glass window reflecting the geometric shapes consistent throughout the restaurant interior. This private dining room blends heritage and modernity, while intertwining their iconic leopard motifs through the carpet, inspired by the late antique dealer and exotic interiors muse, Madeleine Castaing.
To end your evening, a hidden terrace offers golden hour dining, in a hazy amber setting. A diamond, lattice trellis reimagines a classic Italian pergola perfect to sit back and relax with an Aperol spritz.
Il Gattopardo
27 Albemarle St
London W1S 4HZ
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