Beloved Italian, Babbo finds a new home in St John's Wood

It’s all happening in St John’s Wood. In November, Belgravia classic Motcombs opened a second restaurant on Circus Road, a first in its 42-year history. Now Babbo, the Mayfair Italian beloved of Premier League footballers, has re-located to St John’s Wood High Street. Is NW8 the new West End?

The Mood: All-day drinking and dining with different spaces to match

Cricket, not football, is what St John’s Wood is famous for, though the interiors here are swish enough to tempt any off-duty centre forwards, whether in the dining room, bar or semi-private lounge; there’s a covered and heated terrace, too. Ceilings are covered with a custom-made illuminated mirror, floors with resin and walls with bottles of wine: inspiration, perhaps, to order a glass of something Italian if the likes of a sage and cherry Negroni do not appeal.

The Food: Classics Italian suppers, breakfasts and bar snacks

Executive chef Nicola Cariglia has made the journey from Mayfair, where the tastes of the well-heeled clientele weren’t a million miles away from what St John’s Wood locals also like to eat, though unlike Mayfair, this Babbo (the Italian word for ‘daddy’) is open all day. Expect crispy sfogliatelle pastry shells filled with vanilla Chantilly cream for breakfast; lunch and dinner might begin with beef carpaccio with mustard dressing, aged parmesan and rocket ahead of grilled spatchcock baby chicken marinated in spices with charred lemon, with perhaps a pasta course in-between of spaghettoni cooked in fish broth, clams and datterini tomatoes. Who’s your daddy?

Babbo opened on December 9 and is available to book now. It is located at 29-31 St John's Wood High Street, NW8 7NH

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