Italian chef Nicola Batavia to make London debut

Italian chef Nicola Batavia is to make his UK debut with the launch of a restaurant in Kensington, west London, next month.

A joint-venture between Batavia and veteran London restaurateur Paolo Boschi, who owned and operated Da Paolo for 20 years, Casa Batavia will open on 1 June.

Spread over two floors, the restaurant will feature a ground floor bar and upstairs restaurant including a private dining room for up to 15 people.

The interior will be "simple and elegant", with natural colours and black and white artwork from Italian artist, Osvaldo Cavandoli. The private dining room is decorated with photos of Turin and books about the city.

Casa Batavia will aim to offer a menu of simple, authentic Italian flavours focused on seasonality. Dishes will include rabbit salad cooked in extra virgin olive oil, artichokes and green sauce, linguine with baby squid, wild fennel and smoked ricotta and chocolate and amaretto soufflé, chilli truffles and hot chocolate sauce.

Batavia currently runs two restaurants in Italy - the former Michelin-starred Ristorante Birichin in Turin and La Kava on the Liguirian coast, which is open only during the summer months.

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By Kerstin Kühn

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