Chef Francesco Mazzei has opened Mezzogiorno at the Corinthia Hotel London, presenting a menu shaped by southern Italian family cooking. Jenny Southan reports

Mezzogiorno by Francesco Mazzei opened in November 2025 at Corinthia London, taking over the former Northall restaurant and marking the chef’s return to the hotel dining scene. The new arrival centres on everyday Italian food, with a menu that draws heavily on Mazzei’s upbringing in Calabria while also reflecting the broader traditions of Italian regional cooking.

The restaurant is led by Francesco Mazzei, who was born and raised in southern Italy and trained in Rome before building his career in the UK. He is known in London for restaurants including L’Anima, Fiume and Sartoria, and for his cookbook Mezzogiorno, which explores food from southern Italy through family recipes and regional traditions.

The new restaurant shares the same name and reflects a similar focus on informal Italian meals rather than fine-dining techniques. “Opening Mezzogiorno is about sharing the way we eat in Italy,” says Mazzei. “It’s generous, it’s lively, just like the South. I want people to sit down, eat, drink, laugh, and feel like they’re part of my family.”

The interior has been redesigned by the studio Afroditi, which has reworked the double-height space using stone, hand-painted stucco walls, marble and bronze-toned finishes to create a warm, convivial space on a grand scale. Guests enter by walking past kitchen counters before moving into the dining room, placing the food and the chefs at the centre of the experience.

The menu opens with breads and small snacks, including Yorkshire pecorino and hot ’nduja. Starters are grouped under antipasti, with dishes such as tuna crudo and bottarga, red shrimp and grilled Scottish langoustine also at. An antipasto all’italiana, featuring cured meats, mozzarella, bruschetta and ricotta are priced at £6-£9 each.

Around 70% of the ingredients are sourced from the UK, including Scottish seafood and Welsh lamb, alongside Italian products brought in to maintain specific regional flavours. The restaurant also plans to introduce a dedicated white truffle menu when the season allows, supported by an Italian-led wine list and a bar serving aperitivi and cocktails.

Pasta forms the core of the menu, with several familiar Roman and southern Italian dishes. I tried the sumptuous cacio e pepe, which is priced at £18, while carbonara is £19. There's also a Calabrian-style lasagna with meatballs, eggs, fried aubergines, spinach and pork ragù.

The Fileja e Spuntature, made with hand-rolled fusilli-style pasta, sparerib ragout and smoked ricotta, is designed for sharing between two people and costs £34. Seafood pasta includes handmade tagliolini with native blue lobster sauce at £39.

Main courses continue the regional focus, with several dishes intended for sharing. Sardinian fregola with seafood is priced at £84 for two people, while Welsh lamb rump with cavolo nero, beans and roasted tomatoes costs £42.

Zia Maria’s polpetta, a dish of three meatballs with scamorza cheese came highly recommended by my waiter, while the bistecca alla Fiorentina is offered at market price and served with radicchio tardivo and mustard.

Vegetable sides include shallow-fried potatoes, sweet and sour caponata Siciliana and deep-fried zucchini sticks. Francesco’s mother’s aubergine parmigiana is a another standout dish, reinforcing the personal nature of the menu and its connection to family cooking.

Mezzogiorno is open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner.