At Least One London Landlord Doesn’t Care About Fresh Pasta

Chef and restaurateur Stevie Parle has told Eater that his proposed opening on James Street in Marylebone — thought to be a follow up to Pastaio, his fresh pasta restaurant in Soho — is no longer going ahead.

Parle contacted Eater via Twitter with news that “James St isn’t happening. Landlord pulled the papers 2 days before the target date to sign.”

“Had full design, contractors ready, senior team hired... not sure what happened. Gazumped I think. Such a waste of time and so much money.”

The landlord in question is BMO Global Asset Management, which also owns restaurant-heavy development St. Christopher’s Place alongside James Street; it is not yet known which, if any restaurant has taken the site.

The original Pastaio opened in Soho in October 2017, tapping into Londoners’ growing — and now apparently insatiable — appetite for fresh pasta served at speed with appealing prices. With Parle having closed Rotorino in Dalston and Dock Kitchen in Ladbroke Grove in the past 18 months, and having previously focussed on single restaurants, Pastaio would have been his first ‘expansion.’

Roman-inspired Palatino, in Clerkenwell, and the flagship restaurant / coffee bar / kitchen garden Craft, in Greenwich, are the remaining restaurants in Parle’s portfolio; he is also connected to the French-Mediterranean restaurant Sardine, run by chef Alex Jackson, off City Road.

Eater has contacted BMO for comment on the site. More soon.