On entering Pollini at Ladbroke Hall, the first thing you notice its chandelier – although that seems a reductive word to describe the large, abstract luminescent forms which hang down from the ceiling, each light swathed in metal mesh and connected with welded metal branches. Less a chandelier and more a sculptural tree, this 2023 artwork by Nacho Carbonell encapsulates Ladbroke Hall’s approach: here, art, food and design hold equal value.
Later this summer, Ladbroke Hall will unveil Giardinetto, a new casual dining concept in the building’s art-filled garden, serving pizza, plus the rest of the menu from Pollini, the venue’s seasonal Italian restaurant by chef Emanuele Pollini.
Ladbroke Hall was founded in 2023 by gallerists Loïc Le Gaillard and Julien Lombrail, who wanted to find a London home for their Carpenters Workshop Gallery (Paris, New York, LA), which mainly focuses on collectible design and functional art. The pair transformed this ornate beaux arts building – which was built in 1903 as a grand car showroom and assembly plant – into a 43,000 square-foot multi-purpose space. It’s now home to art exhibitions, live music, a Friday jazz series, dance performances, and the restaurant, Pollini at Ladbroke Hall.
This summer, there are even more reasons to visit – starting with al fresco dining at Giardinetto. On the menu? The Wagyu Bresaola, with thin-cut cured Wagyu, rocket and parmesan; the Bufalina, with San Marzano tomato, buffalo mozzarella and basil; and the Mortadella and Pistachio, with rich stracciatella.
The entire Pollini menu will be available to order in the garden. It reflects the restaurant’s shift earlier this year to a more casual feel, with sharing plates that shift regularly with the seasons but maintain a foundation in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. “It is the place where I learned to cook, but also how to think about food in a structured way,” Pollini tells Broadsheet. “A way of treating ingredients with respect, without overcomplicating them … a way of cooking that is direct, honest, and focused on flavour rather than technique for its own sake.”
On any given day, the menu could include sunshine-yellow tortelloni, filled with wild spinach, ricotta, buffalo mozzarella, sage and butter; wild sea bass carpaccio, drizzled with zingy citrus; and grilled corn-fed baby chicken with radish and gochujang. For dessert, the warm apple tart, with its crisp base and scoop of vanilla gelato made from raw Jersey milk, is a must.
For Pollini, the switch to sharing plates not only “reflects a change in how people want to eat today”, but it also gives him more creative license. “Each dish can exist on its own terms, without needing to follow a sequence. That gives more precision to the cooking, and in the room, it creates a more natural energy. The experience becomes less formal, more conversational, and more fluid”.
Even in the garden, art is never far away. Look through the bamboo trees and you’ll find Prouvé House: a rare post-war prefabricated structure reimagined by Carpenters Workshop Gallery as an installation – a striking contrast with the garden’s greenery. Over summer, there'll also be ticketed World Cup semi-final screening events, complete with dinner or late-night snacks – as well as Wimbledon screenings accompanied by strawberries and cream and Pimms. Every Sunday for 12 weeks, it’ll also host craft workshops by Well-Crafted founder Alexandra Lunn, which range from Polish paper cutting to decorating a Wimbledon straw hat.
Giardinetto will open later this summer at Ladbroke Hall.
Pollini at Ladbroke Hall
79 Barlby Rod, W10 6AZ
Hours:
Wed 5.30pm–midnight
Thu to Sat midday–midnight
Sun midday–5pm
