Martin Kuczmarski’s new London restaurant is made for long lunches and late nights

Martin Kuczmarski has a knack for anticipating exactly what a neighbourhood needs in a restaurant; places that feel instantly local, yet quickly become chic rendezvous for those in the know. No stranger to luxury hospitality, Kuczmarski spent over a decade as chief operating officer of Soho House Group before founding Difficult Name in 2023, his first independent venture, which brought Mayfair its American-Italian darling, The Dover, described as an ode to ‘Sophia Loren in 1970s Brooklyn’.

While the group has ambitions to build a collection of privately owned and managed hotels, bars and resorts, it’s another gilded haunt – Martino’s in Sloane Square – that brings the same instinct into focus: a place to dine romantically, and to do so very well.

Wallpaper* dines at Martino’s, London

The mood: elegance with its collar unbuttoned

Located on the ground floor of The Willett Building – an Anglicised take on Beaux-Arts classicism by Edwardian architect E.W. Mountford – Martino’s borrows the warmth and glamour of a 1950s Italian trattoria: white tablecloths, familiar rituals, the assurance of old-school hospitality. If The Dover exudes ‘a slight naughtiness and seductive feeling,’ as Kuczmarski puts it, Martino’s is ‘glamorous but never intimidating,’ designed by close collaborator Studio Dragò to shift in ambience with the day.

‘When designing The Dover, I knew it wouldn’t be our last project together; we quickly began speaking the same language,’ says Fanny Baeur Grung, co-founder and co-owner of the practice. Half-height burl wood panelling wraps glossy walls finished in cream plaster, edged with lacquered black lines that sharpen the room’s geometry. Italian references are woven into the materials: burgundy Venetian terrazzo underfoot, custom Murano glass wall lamps. At the centre of the room, the bar forms a perfect curve. Wrapped in dark timber and brass, a halo of bottles floats above like a suspended cornice, glowing under low amber light.

‘It takes all the little details,’ says Kuczmarski – seating, tables, candles, cloths, cutlery, music – ‘to get the atmosphere right.’ And here, they certainly do.

The food: soft lighting, strong appetite

Executive chef Valentino Pepe trained in southern Italy before spending years in kitchens across Europe. Here, he works alongside Pascal Proyart and Alan Yau. The menu is long and confident, moving between well-loved classics and lesser-known Italian dishes. It follows the traditional order – stuzzichini, antipasti, primi, secondi and contorni – with pizza and pasta sitting comfortably alongside. Plates arrive on branded fine-bone china by William Edwards, a deliberate collision of high and low that adds to the room’s atmosphere – you might order too much, but you won’t regret it.

According to Kuczmarski, no visit is complete without a Martino’s Shakerato (Campari, gin and orange juice) with a side of zucchini fritti, followed by a bowl of meatballs in ragù with toasted bread, and a bottle of the house Super Tuscan red. Yet the Lasagna Verde alla Bolognese – served at lunch or dinner – commands equal attention, rich and unapologetically indulgent. Breakfast, too, has already earned a following, particularly the cacio e pepe scrambled eggs with focaccia soldiers; the kind of dish that makes you briefly forget you’re in London at all.

Martino’s is located at 37 Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AN, UK