The Selfridges Roof Has its Next Restaurant on Lock

Having recently played host to a faux-forest, a star-spangled sustainability pop-up and, well, a roof deck, Selfridges’ latest rooftop restaurant has been announced — from 6 October Il Tetto will rise up.

A collaboration between restaurateur Des McDonald (The Ivy, Holborn Dining Room, Vintage Salt) and chef Luca Terraneo (L’Anima), Il Tetto (it means The Roof) is slated for a year’s residency, promising “classic Italian dishes with a contemporary twist.” The menu promises the ubiquitous cicchetti — small plates with a Venetian slant — alongside more conventional starters like Insalata invernale (radicchio, white chicory, heritage beetroot, pear, zola dressing), which will presumably fade out as we move into spring. Mains promise the likes of Tortelli alla zucca mantovana (pumpkin hand-filled parcels, robiola fondue and crispy sage) and Braciola d'agnello (Wood fired Barnsley chop, white onions, seared fennel.)

The food will be paired with the usual suspects — “a robust wine menu serving the best Italy has to offer and an innovative selection of Negronis.” “Innovation” comes by way of alla cold brew, alla aged, and alla Sacred. Further innovation comes from a “Hot-tail” offering designed to counteract the bracing temperatures on top of London’s most famous department store; “Etna — a blend of Inzolia white wine, Rafatfia, brandy, roasted cardamom, honey and fresh mint and Andreana — a mix of Muscatel, Borgia bianco, pear puree and Cocci Americano.”

The site will offer an all-day menu including afternoon tea — as Dan Barbers’ WastED did before it — “accents of Tuscan red, burnt orange and olive green ... and terracotta pots filled with herbs” completing the ambience. Selfridges is a curious restaurant space, and the roof is perhaps its most confusing site: the constant rotation of chefs, concepts and cuisines suggests attention to the pulse of the London restaurant scene — even its global heartbeat. But it’s hard to avoid concluding that these pop-ups are much more than a brand exercise for the famous department store.