Esquire Magazine

Rachel Fellows - March 2019

Say the words “Pucci” and “pizza” near to one another, and anybody who remembers the old Chelsea institution will pipe up with a mix of incredulity and glee – their eyes will widen, a mild smirk flickering at the corner of their mouths. 'Pucci' Albanese’s King's Road restaurant was party central in the Eighties and Nineties (with celebrities of varying ranks regularly in residence). It may have floundered later on, before finally closing in 2010, but the sense of nostalgia at the mere mention of its name is palpable… and infectious. Because what it lacked in suavity it made up for in fun, plain and simple, and that is what Albanese’s son, Rufus, is seeking to recreate in his new Mayfair restaurant, in an ode to his father’s famous panache.

Evening Standard

ES - October 2018

On Thursday 11th October, Perrier-Jouët launched #ArtOfTheWild, a wild garden inspired table installation on the whimsical private terrace of luxury boutique hotel The Mandrake. Perrier-Jouët is a champagne house known for finesse and floral notes of its wines, fashioned with the expertise of just seven Cellar Masters since its foundation in 1811. The terrace (which is normally closed to the public) features an 18-seater table where guests can enjoy Perrier-Jouët champagne in an environment of wild and tropical plants mixed with artistic interpretations of nature. Following the success of Perrier-Jouët’s interactive Garden Of Wonder at The Principal Hotel in Manchester, #ArtOfTheWild by Perrier-Jouët at The Mandrake offers diners an urban oasis in the heart of Fitzrovia. Drawing inspiration from Art Nouveau and modern artists such as Luftwerk, the table is draped with hanging passion flowers jasmine and immersive art.

British GQ

GQ - February 2019

Some restaurants trade on the charade that they’re a “best-kept secret” – despite inviting every food blogger in town to write them up. Laylow, however, is the real deal. True to its name, it doesn’t actively do any PR, the website comprises simply a menu and contact details and it’s hidden down an unassuming street in West London, right by the Trellick Tower. Yet the fact that this members’ club is run by Bella Freud and her partner, the artist Taz Fustok – who have also built a nightclub downstairs – should give you a sense of the vibe inside. The dining room is a full-on scene, guests double-glancing around the tables on arrival to spy who else is in and to size up their wardrobes. Unusually for such a hotspot, it’s also very much a place to eat. The Ibérico pork pluma, for instance, is sensational, as is the hot smoked salmon. But you didn’t hear about it from us, OK?

GO LONDON

GUY PEWSEY - December 2018

On Monday night, David Beckham entered a blue, neon-lit door in Golborne Road, just north of Notting Hill, followed by wife Victoria and son Brooklyn. Then came Sadie Frost, Daphne Guinness, Pixie Geldof, Guy Ritchie and Jack Whitehall. All in all, 250 people arrived for a night of live music, glistening Christmas trees and vast ice sculptures.

Arranged by Beckham with Jefferson Hack of Dazed Magazine, it was held to celebrate the festive season and the former footballer’s Haig whisky brand. But as the night raged on, it was clear there was a second message to be established: Laylow, the members’ club, music venue and restaurant that played host to this riotous party, seemed to be expressing a message loud and clear: “We have arrived.”

The Art Newspaper

Maev Kennedy - April 2019

A series of newly identified drawings illustrating one major 20th-century artist learning his craft in the studio of another, Anthony Caro’s work corrected by Henry Moore, will go on display for the first time in an exhibition opening in May, at the East Gallery of Norwich University of the Arts. The exhibition's curator Neil Powell, a sculptor himself, found the life drawings in a folder in archives in south London of Caro, who died in 2013. He saw immediately that they represented the hands of two artists, and he recognised their work immediately—Caro and his then boss, and as the drawings prove, his tutor, Moore. Powell revered the work of both men: he met Caro several times at the Royal College of Art, where Powell was a Henry Moore scholarship student.“It’s not really correct to say that Caro’s drawings had been corrected by Moore—this is Moore gently indicating to him through hatching and shading how to achieve something that was central to the work of both men, weight, mass, three dimensionality, not just a two dimensional image on a piece of paper.”

Condé Nast Traveler

Becky Lucas - December 2018

Pucci Mayfair has permanently popped up on Maddox Street and it’s a very good thing – certainly not only because it’s located right behind Condé Nast Traveller HQ. No, Pucci Mayfair is worth travelling for. The space has a certain character worth experiencing in person, beneath the dangling bulbs, as you sit at one of the intimate wooden dining tables, opposite the striking Pop Art. That character is personified by charming front-of-house manager Rufus Albanese, ‘who, with his father Pucci, ran Pucci Pizza in Chelsea – where the likes of Rod Stewart and Bryan Ferry regularly popped in for supper – for three decades before shutting it in 2010. Now, together with ex-Gordon Ramsay Group chef Tilly Turbett, he has relaunched the brand in this larger, busier Mayfair spot. Dogs are more than welcome here – on our visit the arrival of a cartoon-tiny Chihuahua named Dolce inspired much joy.