Former Pied à Terre chefs to launch weekend-only restaurant at London’s Islington Arts Club

Two former Pied à Terre chefs are set to launch a weekend-only restaurant residency at the Islington Arts Club in London.

Louis Korovilas, who had worked at the Michelin-starred Locanda Locatelli before becoming executive chef at Phil Howard’s Notto pasta bars, has paired up with Taylor Sessegnon-Shakespeare, former head of pastry at the Michelin-starred Luca in London’s Farringdon, to open Dante London.

The duo first met while working in the kitchens of the Michelin-starred Pied à Terre in London in 2016 and were later reunited at Italian restaurant group Bancone.

At the 27-cover Dante London, which will run from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch, Korovilas and Sessegnon-Shakespeare will serve a weekly rotating selection of French-Italian food, ranging from broadbean orzotto with glazed chicken wing to aubergine scapece with clam bagna cauda and crispy palourde clams. A whole suckling pig belly for two will also be available.

Sessegnon-Shakespeare said: “With London being such a cosmopolitan city, there is a constant stream of influence from all over the globe in terms of food, which is what makes the city so exciting. We want to make sure you can see this within our food and some of our ingredient choices.

“We’re trying to bring back the lost staple of hospitality with little details such as complimentary bread selections. Though this is a hit to margins and is labour intensive, it’s a price worth paying on our end. This is true hospitality: it’s about giving and that is what we want Dante London to be about. 

Korovilas added: “At the moment, the London dining scene is quite formulaic due to the financial climate; restaurants are taking less exciting risks and you can see a lot of similarities in many restaurant menus. We’re trying to break away from this without current trends on our menu and how we cook.”