Plenty of Curzon Street's old banks have been turned into something forgettable. Pinna, at number 43 by the entrance to Shepherd Market, pays out in pasta. It opened on 2 December 2024, and it carries the surname of its chef, Achille Pinna, who comes from Sant'Antioco on the south-western coast of Sardinia.
The Goodman family tree
Pinna was executive chef at Wild Tavern in Chelsea, and this is the room built around his own cooking. The owners are George Bukhov-Weinstein and Ilya Demichev, who built Goodman and Burger & Lobster before moving into Italian and Mediterranean rooms with Wild Tavern and Fantomas on the King's Road. Elmira Amdiy, a friend and business partner, is the third name on the venture. The oxtail tortello tastes the same here as it did at Wild, which tells you how closely the kitchen follows the chef.
A menu that bothers with andarinos is telling you where its chef grew up.
The room
This is classic, old-school upmarket Italian, with the air of somewhere long established, and few close rivals nearby. The room runs the depth of the building, so light comes in front and back, and the table by the open fire is the one to ask for in winter. The restaurant's own photographs show ribbed burgundy walls, glazed tiles and a marble counter where a black truffle waits beside its slicer. It suits groups, since the seating is standard tables rather than counters or booths. Pinna is open for lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday.
What to order
The menu follows the Italian four-course shape: starters, pasta, mains to share, dessert. The raw bar is extensive. Oysters carry a raspberry vinegar granita, the bluefin tuna carpaccio has a delicate dressing, and the Aberdeen beef tartare comes with poached quail eggs on plates monogrammed with the Pinna name. Pasta is made in-house, and paccheri with courgette and sea urchin was the dish singled out at the launch.
The dish to order first is andarinos, a Sardinian pasta, with venison ragù and pecorino fiore sardo. The ragù is excellent, and it is the plate that tells you where the chef grew up. The oxtail tortello with cavolo nero is the safe second. For the main, share the bone-in Vercelli veal Milanese, served as a cutlet rather than beaten flat, among the best of its kind around. Finish with the ricotta cannoli with prickly pear and pistachio, the pudding to choose over the chocolate cake or Basque cheesecake.
Two hedges. A high-end Italian that does not shuck its oysters for guests is a small disappointment, and two pastas leave little room for dessert. It is also a very expensive Italian in Mayfair, and the finance crowd is part of the room, though the cooking itself is restrained and unfussy.
Drinks
The wine list is long and strongly Italian, with Sardinian bottles highlighted, among them wines from Argiolas, the island's most important producer. At the far end sits Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, which is Mayfair making its presence felt. Cocktails follow the seasons: clementine and persimmon with gin and bay in one, quince and pear with Benromach and Pineau des Charentes in another.
London no longer wants Italy in general. It wants the island, and the town on it. Share a pasta and a main, and sit near the fire.
- The vibe
- Burgundy-walled old-school Italian in a former bank, lit front and back.
- The food
- Andarinos with venison ragù, oxtail tortello, veal Milanese cutlet, prickly pear cannoli.
- The drink
- Sardinian bottles from Argiolas, or a quince and pear cocktail with Benromach.
- A tip
- Share a pasta and a main; ask for the fire table in winter.
