Avert your eyes, Italians – this one may hurt. A new British-Italian cafe is set to open its door in Peckham to serve up ‘authentically Britalian’ fare.
Café Britaly has been brought to life by chef Alex Purdie and Richard Crampton-Platt. Alex most recently comes from Bouchon Racine in Farringdon where he took the role of senior chef, but it was at Soho’s Bocca di Lupo where the pair met where Alex was sous chef and Richard was ops director of the restaurant and the beloved gelateria across the road, Gelupo. The cafe will be the pair’s first hospitality venture.
Despite some of the controversial dishes Café Britaly will be serving, the all-day cafe intends to celebrate ‘Britain’s love affair with Italian cuisine’. Serving up nostalgic renditions of beloved Italian dishes viewed from the perspective of the British Isles, Britalian cuisine takes British classics and updates them with Italian ingredients and vice versa, hoping to bring together the best of both worlds.
So what can you expect at this Britalian eatery? Probably the most shocking and contentious dish on the menu is the spaghetti carbonara made non-traditionally with cream and adorned with a greasy spoon-style fried egg. You can also expect a ‘Full Italian’ breakfast on the menu which will include fennel sausages, fried pizza dough, and beans inspired by the Tuscan dish fagioli all’uccelletto.
Before any Italian cuisine traditionalists get up in arms, Café Britaly’s intention isn’t to start any arguments but to create conversations. Richard explains the concept behind the cafe, “From the 1950s onwards, Italian-run cafés gave many Britons their first taste of Italian food, served alongside more familiar native dishes, and adapted to their tastes. Café Britaly wishes to rediscover that legacy and revitalise it in a way that’s resolutely modern with a tinge of nostalgia.”
In a homage to the kind of Italian-run British cafés whose long history Richard has admitted to being obsessed with, the 40-cover cafe will be revamping Supa Ya Ramen’s former Rye Lane home into a muted mid-century-style interior.
Café Britaly is expected to open in late April/early May. For updates, head to their website here.