Mid-market mediocrity with all the glamour of Frankie & Benny's
Evening Standard|February 07, 2024
Grasso 81 Dean Street, WID 3SW. Meal for two plus drinks about 160. Open Tuesday to Thursday from noon-11pm and Friday to Saturday from noon-midnight; grassosoho.com
Mid-market mediocrity with all the glamour of Frankie & Benny's

GRASSO may have opened with minimal fanfare but there is basically nothing quiet about it. Magicked into the vast, new-built shell of a Dean Street Wagamama, it is an imitation red sauce joint that hits with all the subtlety of a big pizza pie. Almost 200 covers sprawl across two floors of hectically mismatched retro art. "Disco toilets" throb with flashing lights and pummelling floor-fillers.

There is the domed bulk of an oven tended by thick-armed pizzaioli, a long, bustling bar and, generally, the boisterous, high-volume atmosphere of a steroidal modern trattoria. And then, below the groovy Seventies font of the logo, there is the key phrase "Italian-American Restaurant" - a vital indicator that (like the Dover, Alley Cats Pizza, Carlotta and more) here is a venture tapping into a trend that is suddenly hotter than an arrabbiata made for an enemy.

Which is all to say that Grasso launched just before Christmas by the Sicilian-heritage McCaffrey family seemingly has the whole package of personable warmth, palpable hype and zeitgeist-grabbing, nostalgic appeal.

この記事は Evening Standard の February 07, 2024 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Evening Standard の February 07, 2024 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

EVENING STANDARDのその他の記事すべて表示
The era of longevity is almost upon us. But can our minds really keep up?
The London Standard

The era of longevity is almost upon us. But can our minds really keep up?

A post-ageing world is just around the corner, says longevity scientist AUBREY DE GREY, and it’s going to change the way we live

time-read
4 分  |
November 07, 2024
Hidden London
The London Standard

Hidden London

SECRET SPOTS YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO DISCOVER

time-read
4 分  |
November 07, 2024
How Christian Louboutin fell in love with Melides in Portugal
The London Standard

How Christian Louboutin fell in love with Melides in Portugal

The wild beauty of this seaside village charmed the French fashion designer so much that he made it his home

time-read
5 分  |
November 07, 2024
Actor Millie Bobby Brown romances in Hyde Park, feasts at Sheesh and buys thelot at Harrods
The London Standard

Actor Millie Bobby Brown romances in Hyde Park, feasts at Sheesh and buys thelot at Harrods

Interview with Actor Millie Bobby Brown

time-read
3 分  |
November 07, 2024
How will Arteta manage without influential Edu?
The London Standard

How will Arteta manage without influential Edu?

Arsenal need smooth transition between eras just like Man City

time-read
2 分  |
November 07, 2024
"I had no one in Manchester apart from my PlayStation"
The London Standard

"I had no one in Manchester apart from my PlayStation"

Aaron Wan-Bissaka was a young man rated among the country's most promising footballers when Manchester United came calling in the summer of 2019.

time-read
6 分  |
November 07, 2024
The battle for the soul of Soho
The London Standard

The battle for the soul of Soho

Inside the war between London's porn baron family and the council they say is killing the vibe

time-read
4 分  |
November 07, 2024
At the table: Sad steaks seasoned with despair
The London Standard

At the table: Sad steaks seasoned with despair

Fetch the smelling salts, you're in for a shock: A Restaurant Critic Hates a Famously Terrible Restaurant. Low-hanging fruit? Perhaps.

time-read
3 分  |
November 07, 2024
Class portrait Nobody else writes about middle England so acutely
The London Standard

Class portrait Nobody else writes about middle England so acutely

Tessa Hadley's first novella depicts women in refreshing ways

time-read
3 分  |
November 07, 2024
How a tiny cult radio station in Hackney took over the world
The London Standard

How a tiny cult radio station in Hackney took over the world

I think the most obscure place I've had a listener email from so far was probably a guy in the Yukon,\" laughs Flo Dill, the host of NTS Radio's flagship morning show.

time-read
4 分  |
November 07, 2024