Veteran celeb chef Aldo Zilli makes his return to the London restaurant scene next week with the launch on Tuesday (10 December) of Undercroft in Mayfair, a dramatic new dining venue set in the crypt of historic St George’s church off Hanover Square.

The venue was heavily trailed earlier this year as the site where top Birmingham chef Brad Carter, who earned a stellar reputation with Carter’s of Moseley, would make his London debut. But Brad walked away from the project in September, having apparently fallen out with its backer, music industry entrepreneur Martin Priestnall.

Aldo, now 68, has taken up the reins and has created a menu said to be influenced by more than 20 regions of Italy. It will be presented, we are told, in theatrical style alongside a programme of live music and art displays – “Above, worshippers congregate in St George’s Church to share in faith. Below, we congregate in the crypts to share in the art of multi sensory dining: a symphony of taste, heritage, artistry and culinary creativity”.

During his 30-year career in London, Aldo’s seven restaurants attracted a string of celebrity guests ranging from Paul McCartney and Freddie Mercury to Prince Edward and Kate Moss. He closed down the last two – Zilli Fish and Zilli Café in Brewer Street – 12 years ago, firing a broadside at “greedy landlords” who wanted to turn Soho into Dubai.

Since then he has concentrated on television and consultancy roles, although in 2020 he opened Casa Zilli at his home in Bletchingly, Surrey, entertaining guests in a heated igloo in his garden on Fridays and Saturdays.