Ex-Babbo head chef to launch first solo venture in London

Former head chef of Mayfair Italian Babbo, Carlos Scotto, is set to open his first restaurant in Marylebone later this month, offering a menu influenced by his Neapolitan heritage.

Beginning his career aged thirteen as an apprentice at the Michelin-starred Don Salvatore in Naples, Scotto went on to work at Corbin & King in London and then at Michelin-starred Murano, training with the renowned Angela Hartnett, before working at Galvin La Chapelle and as head chef at Babbo.

Following the recent trend of dividing a restaurant into distinct areas, as seen with Hide and more recently Gloria, the 100-cover space will be split into two parts with XR, a 62-cover, casual dining restaurant on the ground floor offering both a lunch and a dinner service, and Xier itself on the first floor, open solely for dinner.

The menu will pay homage to Scotto’s Neopolitan background incorporating inspiration from his time spent travelling in both Japan and in Scandinavia.

Xier’s ten-course tasting menu, priced at £90, will feature Obsi blue prawns served with wild fennel, wasabi caviar and fresh raspberry and rose-cured salmon with foie gras, burnt figs, leaf oil and citrus dressing, and a beef cheek with cabbage, bone marrow, apple and date purée.

A vegetarian ten-course tasting menu will also be available, with dishes such as a stracciatella with pollen, lemon verbena, taro, and organic honey, a hay smoked vegetable tartare, black lava salt, crispy shallots and garden leaves, and a miso soup.

XR on the floor below will offer an à la carte menu with main courses such as Yellowfin tuna tartar with aubergine caviar, garden salad and taro chips, and classics including hanger steak, pickled walnuts, shallots, parsley, and baby aubergine. Dishes will be priced between £15 and £24.

Ingredients will be sourced from organic producers with the restaurant working in collaboration with the Rhug Estate Organic Farm in North Wales.

Scotto said: “It’s always been my ambition to open a restaurant that showcased what I love about food from around the world. Since I arrived, London is a place that has brought me incredible opportunities, so it felt right to open here and to showcase fantastic British produce.”

Xier will open on the 5 March.

Leave your reply

Most Recent Stories

40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks due to sick workers

Investigators with the CDC have revealed that sick hospitality workers were the cause of 40% of food poisoning outbreaks at US restaurants between 2017 and 2019.

Arctic-aged English sparkling wine causes a splash in Norway

East Sussex's Rathfinny Estate partnered with Norwegian cruise company Hurtigruten on a six month experiment that took English sparkling wine to new depths.

Laurent-Perrier launches summer terrace with Nobu

Champagne Laurent-Perrier will be hosting 'Serenity in the City', a new summer terrace at Portman Square's Nobu Hotel.

Drops of Gold? How adding gold nanoparticles can improve wine

Researchers in Australia have shown how gold nanoparticles can successfully remove unwanted sulphur aromas from wine through a scientific trial.

The best rosés from The Champagne Masters 2023

These are the leading rosés from this year's Champagne Masters, ranging from the young and fresh to the fully mature and vinous.

Most Recent Stories

40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks due to sick workers

Investigators with the CDC have revealed that sick hospitality workers were the cause of 40% of food poisoning outbreaks at US restaurants between 2017 and 2019.

Arctic-aged English sparkling wine causes a splash in Norway

East Sussex's Rathfinny Estate partnered with Norwegian cruise company Hurtigruten on a six month experiment that took English sparkling wine to new depths.

Laurent-Perrier launches summer terrace with Nobu

Champagne Laurent-Perrier will be hosting 'Serenity in the City', a new summer terrace at Portman Square's Nobu Hotel.

Drops of Gold? How adding gold nanoparticles can improve wine

Researchers in Australia have shown how gold nanoparticles can successfully remove unwanted sulphur aromas from wine through a scientific trial.

The best rosés from The Champagne Masters 2023

These are the leading rosés from this year's Champagne Masters, ranging from the young and fresh to the fully mature and vinous.