Sicily. One of the, oldest, most richly varied food cultures in European cuisine. Enriched through history with diverse cultures, all leaving their mark on the fertile soils of the volcanic island. Influences of Arabia, Africa, Spanish, French and of course Italian make Sicilian cuisine a veritable melting pot of flavour.
Our team have sourced some of the finest produce from Sicily, along with the very best of London and British suppliers. Our one aim to bring menus that are authentically Sicilian, yet honestly local, and caringly shared.
Our Head Chef – Vittorio Meli, originates from Catania, Sicily. His family have owned and run restaurants for over three generations within his home city. Vittorio’s passion for food, cooking, and the traditions of Sicilian cuisine began as a young boy in the kitchens of his Great Uncle’s & his own Father’s restaurants, learning the carefully handed down recipes of the family.
Our menus reflect the diversity and nuances of regional Sicilian cuisine. From the North-African influenced regions of Trapani in the Northwest, the coastline regions of Palermo, Messina, Agrigento & Caltanissetta – all indebted to the rich seafoods of the Mediterranean. The island celebrates an abundance of produce, many with Arabic influences, like pomegranates, oranges, lemons, prickly pears, aubergines, pistachio, almonds, olives, the list is endless.
The casual street markets of Palermo and Catania, influence our food by inspiring the use of bold aromatics, spices, and fragrances all so familiar; rose, saffron, oregano, mint and rosemary. Recipes carefully passed down for generations, modernised, yet so typical of Sicilian traditions. We have sourced some of the best local suppliers from London and the British Isles, to bring fresh sustainable produce to your plates.
The restaurant’s aperitivo deli bar showcases some of the very best of the sourced produce from our partner suppliers. Take a flavour of our restaurant home with you and be inspired with simple recipe cards from our head chef Vittorio, continue his family traditions of sharing the very best of Sicilian cuisine.
Explore our wine menus showcasing some of the very best examples of regional vineyards and grapes, enjoy an aperitif or carefully crafted cocktail or simply choose one of our local craft beers.
We have sourced some of the best produce from Sicily and the local East London and British suppliers, our one aim to bring menus that are authentically Sicilian, yet honestly local, and caringly shared.
La Fauxmagerie, the UK’s first plant-based cheesemonger. Together with their suppliers, they create some of the UK’s most delicious, decadent and inspired plant-based cheeses fit for the finest cheese board. Whether you are looking for alternatives to dairy for ethical or health reasons, or whether you are simply looking for your next culinary adventure, they’ve got you covered.
Located close to our restaurant, you will find them in Cheshire Street, just off Brick Lane, and you can indulge in their wide variety of plant-based cheeses. They have cheeses for every purpose: melting, grating, spreading, relishing and devouring! They also offer a range of plant-based preserves, breads, and accoutrements to add the perfect final touches to your cheese banquet.
In 1992, inspired by adventure (and as an alternative honeymoon), the owners and founders of Olives et Al, Giles and Annie Henschel, spent a year journeying across the Mediterranean, North Africa and Middle East on two motorbikes collecting recipes everywhere they went from the farmers, growers and producers, they met along the way. Since then, they’ve been faithfully re-creating those recipes, and many more gathered over the years, using traditional methods and the most appropriate ingredients.
We’ve partnered with them to bring a fantastic range of top quality and award-winning products to our menus and deli bar. For every purchase we make with Olive et Al, they are committed to planting a tree.
Darragh O’Shea is an eighth-generation butcher and along with his wife, Fiona, and their four children, Alfie, Findlay, Erin and Lottie, they proudly run West Mains Farm in Tullibardine, Perthshire, Scotland. West Mains Farm has been in Fiona’s family for over 100 years, and they are honoured to be the third generation to farm here.
They focus on native beef breeds such as Angus, Shorthorn and Hereford. Their pigs are rare breed Tamworth’s and Large Blacks and for lamb they farm hardy sheep breeds such as Cheviots.
They have a passion for meat, pure and simple! A passion inherited from Darragh’s late father Dermot O’Shea. They supply only the finest quality meats, ethically sourced from their family farm in Perthshire Scotland and trusted, like-minded suppliers from all over the UK and Ireland. Their lineage in butchery goes back eight generations, and craftsmanship and pedigree are second to none, a tradition we are keen to share.
Are one of the UK’s best-loved Italian food suppliers. They set up London’s first Italian artisan cheese store in Borough Market back in 2000 – and ever since, the team at Gastronomica has remained dedicated to sourcing and importing the finest authentic gastronomic specialties from our beautiful country. 20 years after their launch, they exist to bring sought-after Italian food and drink to chefs and home cooks that value quality stock from best-in-class suppliers.
As a business, their strength lies not just in finding and showcasing popular Italian staples, but in unearthing unknown talents. We are constantly working with them to support local traders, connecting with the best local companies, that share theirs and our passion for quality produce, this leads them across all of Italy’s major regions sampling everything from the sophisticated cuisines of Piedmont to the best produce from the island of Sicily.
Are a specialist butchery in Islington, London. They cut, cure, smoke and hang meats supplied by a small selection of high-quality British producers and farmers.
They started Cobble Lane Cured to make fermented and air-dried products using British meat, drawing on the experience and skills two of their founders had developed over years in the butchery trade. Having worked under some of Europe’s greatest charcutiers in Italy, Germany and Poland, the team brings a knowledge of butchery, curing, smoking and maturation processes that is unmatched in the UK.
They began with a small range of salami inspired by Italian production methods that Adam had learnt from spending time with salumieri throughout Sardinia and Sicily.
Why British Charcuterie?
British meat is exceptional. The British isles offers a rich, diverse stock of breeds, and this makes for a fairer and tastier end product.
Established in 2011, the East London Brewing Company is microbrewery passionate about beer and about celebrating brewing as one of the many wonderfully diverse, creative and innovative traditions of East London. The beers they brew explore familiar British classics, such as our Foundation Best Bitter, incorporate twists on classic styles as seen in our Orchid Vanilla Mild and showcase newer styles, such as our Beyond the Tower session IPA.
Their celebration of East London old and new continues in their close collaboration with other East London businesses. Their logo was letterpress-printed by the London Centre for Book Arts in Hackney Wick, E3. Their labels – with black and white photography demonstrating some of the wonderful texture of East London – were crafted by a local graphic designer. Their annual green-hopped beer is brewed with hops grown in the gardens, pots and allotments of residents of Waltham Forest.
We hope you enjoy their beer and the fact that in drinking it, you are drinking in a little piece of East London!
Born in Italy. Made in London.
Sam and Enri were born in Italy. Their paths wouldn’t cross for a few decades, but they both grew up with a love of food and making a mess while eating it. Enri trained as a chef back in Italy before moving to London to develop his skills at fine dining restaurants. Sam was working as a chef when they met for the first time in London’s Michelin-starred Locanda Locatelli.
Dreaming of one day making their own Italian-style gelato, Enri took Sam (and several notepads) to Sicily to meet his Godfather Franco. Franco supplied gelaterias with top-notch ingredients. He introduced them to master gelatieri in Sicily, Calabria and Basilicata. Many questions were asked. Some secrets were shared.
With a headful of knowledge and a suitcase full of Bronte Pistachios, they came back to London and set to work on making their gelato company a reality. We are proud to partner with these amazing gelateria magicians!
Wood St Coffee is an independent café and specialty coffee roaster.
First bringing REALLY GOOD COFFEE to Walthamstow in 2014, they pride themselves on producing coffee that not only tastes good, but does good too. All of their coffee is ethically sourced through a partnership of importers, working directly with farmers and roasted with care to bring out the best from each process, varietal and region. Owners Clare and Gareth Reid brought specialty coffee to Walthamstow in the summer of 2013, starting out as a weekly stall at Wood Street Indoor Market (hence the name, ‘Wood St Coffee’). In 2015, Gareth met Tim Choi through a mutual friend. With a shared enthusiasm for speciality coffee, the pair joined forces and began roasting together in 2018. We are thrilled to bring this incredible coffee to all our guests.
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