MEZZOGIORNO BY FRANCESCO MAZZEI
In November 2025 Francesco opened Mezzogiorno at Corinthia London, a short walk from Trafalgar Square and the Thames. The name means “midday”, and it is also what Italians call the south: the Calabria, Puglia and Sicily that shaped his cooking, and the title of his first cookbook.
The restaurant brings that food to the heart of Westminster: handmade pasta, seafood lifted with citrus and chilli, and seasonal vegetables cooked simply, all made for sharing. It is, as Francesco puts it, mamma’s cooking with a chef’s hands.
RESERVE A TABLETHE SPIRIT OF THE SOUTH
The menu follows the seasons and the regions of the south. Signature dishes include his mother’s aubergine parmigiana, a silky carbonara and Francesco’s much-loved tiramisu, alongside truffle specials, a Sunday menu and pasta-making classes.
Day to day the kitchen is led by head chef Francesco Chiarelli, who has worked alongside Francesco since L’Anima. At the Chef’s Kitchen, guests sit beside the open kitchen and pasta counter, and Francesco’s Table seats up to ten for private dining.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY
Mezzogiorno was added to the Michelin Guide in January 2026 and awarded two AA Rosettes in February 2026, and was a finalist for Best Fine Dining at the Italian Awards 2026.
Reviewing it for the Financial Times, Jay Rayner gave Mezzogiorno five stars and called Francesco “quite simply the best” of London’s Italian chefs, concluding: “I doubt I will eat better than I did at Mezzogiorno.”
VISIT MEZZOGIORNO
Mezzogiorno by Francesco Mazzei
Corinthia London, Whitehall Place, London SW1A 2BD
Reservations: +44 20 7930 8181
restaurants.london@corinthia.com