Italian restaurant and bakery announces opening date for new Covent Garden venue

This July, Aqua Restaurant Group will launch Italian bakery, café and pizzeria, Luci, in The Yards, Covent Garden.

Reminiscent of Milanese bakeries once popular in Soho, Luci will be open all day and evening for freshly made Italian pastries, pizza and pasta from executive chef Andrea Presenti (ex Princi) and team.

The new opening will see the group’s brand of modern Italian food and hospitality find a new and more casual home in a beautiful three-storey building on Covent Garden’s Long Acre, providing an all-day dining destination within the “vibrant” surrounds of the West End’s, The Yards.

Luci will spread across two floors, created by award-winning designers Robert Angell Studios. The venue boasts 200 covers, set across a first-floor restaurant and a ground-floor grab-and-go counter, both of which exemplify the “charm and accessibility” of Italian food culture.

Whether it be a flaky freshly-baked buttery Cornetto or a crunchy Ricotta-filled Cannoli finished with candied Amalfi lemon rind, or sampling any of Luci’s house made pastries and breads alongside a barista-made Cappuccino, the venue will be open all day.

For the savoury tooth, guests will discover Luci’s signature dishes including Fusilli pesto pasta with fine shavings of Reggiano Parmigiano, or the timeless classic Panzanella, delicious sandwiches (aka Panino) like the Treccia filled with Mortadella and Provolone cheese, or Focaccia with Roasted Peppers and Tallegio.

For something more substantial, guests can choose from Parmigiana di Melanzane, to Chicken Cacciatore, to Lamb meatballs in a rich San Marzano Tomato sauce and finished with fennel. Artisanal pizza will be a central point of the offering, all burnished using an authentic wood-fired Italian oven.

David Yeo, CEO and founder of the Aqua Restaurant Group, commented: “Luci was born from a love of Italian food, and we want to bring that passion to The Yards, Covent Garden.

“No matter what time of the day, we want our customers to be able to enjoy delicious, top-quality food and drinks, whether a Cappuccino and a pistachio cornetto for breakfast or a slice of pizza and a Negroni as a nightcap. That is where Luci will fill a gap for Covent Garden.”

On behalf of Longmartin Properties Ltd, Abi Labbett, asset manager at CBRE, added: “Aqua Restaurant Group is a globally recognised, culinary empire with some of the most ground-breaking restaurants in the industry, and we’re delighted that it has selected The Yards as its destination of choice when expanding its portfolio within the capital.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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