American-Italian restaurant Lavo is to launch its first European branch in Marylebone this month – the latest in a rash of upscale Italian-inspired openings from international operators in London this autumn.
Lavo was founded in New York in 20 years ago by Noah Tepperberg of the Tao Group and took off as a brand following the 2008 opening of the Las Vegas branch, claimed to be the highest-grossing restaurant in US history.
Set inside the new BoTree hotel in Marylebone Lane, Lavo marks the first London opening for the Tao Group since it acquired the Hakkasan group two years ago. Tao was itself bought in 2017 by Madison Square Garden Sports, a holding company which owns pro sports franchises including the New Yorks Knicks basketball and New York Rangers ice hockey teams.
In the US, Lavo is well known for its resident DJs and nightclubby vibe, along with maximalist signature dishes including by a 1lb meatball topped with sheep’s milk ricotta and a 20-layer chocolate cake. For the London launch, the meatball seems to have become wagyu; perhaps it will lose weight to avoid offending European tastes.
Lavo opens around the same time as Hong Kong-based Aqua group’s two new Italian spots, casual Luci in Covent Garden and the more upscale Azzurra in Chelsea – whose Amalfi coast and Sicily inspiration sounds very similar to Lavo’s ‘coastal Italy’ theme. Il Gattopardo, inspired by ‘la dolce vita’ in 1960s Italy, opens from the Azumi group (Roka and Zuma) in Mayfair next month, while Bocconcino, Mikhail Gokhner’s Moscow-based wood-fired pizzeria, follows up its lavish Mayfair outpost with a second branch in Soho later this month.
Jared Boles, the American Tao executive who is heading Lavo’s London launch, appears resolutely unfazed at the potential oversupply of high-end Italians launched during the cost-of-living crisis.
He said: “The luxury market in London is stronger than most other markets currently. It’s therefore not surprising that there has been a big influx of premium brands from all over the world. We view this as a good thing. The more London is put on the global culinary map, the better it is for us.“
No explanation seems to have been given for the name Lavo, which means ‘I wash’ in Italian.
