108 Garage duo to open second site

27 July 2017 by
108 Garage duo to open second site

Luca Longobardi and Chris Denney, co-founders of Notting-Hill-based 108 Garage, have announced the launch of a second restaurant, Southam Street, in September.

Formerly a Victorian pub called the West Thirty Six, Southam Street at 36 Golborne Road in Notting Hill, London, will be split across three floors.

The ground floor will feature a Japanese robata grill and Big Green Egg to give meat bold barbecue flavouring. A private BBQ area will also be accessed via a lower ground garden.

On the first floor in the Raw Bar, a Japanese sushi master will create a Nikkei (a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese ingredients) menu and sake will be served in a separate room.

The second floor will house a private member's champagne bar, offering champagnes from Grandes Marques through to smaller-production, artisan brands.

Longobardi moved from Naples to New York aged 21, selling shirts on the street before taking up a job at investment bank VTR Capital.

In 1999 he launched his own international investment bank, State Capital, in Italy, Miami, New York and Brazil. However an accusation of laundering money for the Italian mafia put Longobardi on Interpol's ‘most wanted' list and he was arrested and sent to a maximum-security prison in Brazil alongside criminals such as Colombian drug lord Pablo Rayo Montaño and Italian terrorist Pierluigi Bragaglia.

He was cleared of all charges and released in September 2010, but his business did not survive.

Denney started out as a struggling artist, working as a pot-washer. After deciding to become a full-time chef, he pulled himself up through the ranks. Denny has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants around the world including Hambleton Hall in Oakham, Nahm in Bangkok and the Square in London's St. James's Square.

The pair came together via an advert on Gumtree. They now have several projects in the pipeline including Home Noir, which will combine a members' club with 20 loft apartments, a restaurant, clubhouse and roof deck. The location of Home Noir is yet to be announced.

Reviews: Critics delight at Chris Denney's 108 Garage, El Pastor, Ben's Cornish Kitchen and the Hoste in Burnham Market >>

Videos from The Caterer archives

Are you looking for a new role? See all the current hospitality vacancies available with The Caterer Jobs

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking