Latest news with #NazHassan
Times
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Lupa restaurant review: a terrific trattoria from a White Lotus star
It was 1am when the chef Naz Hassan stumbled home from the Christmas party at Carousel in Fitzrovia, central London, where he was working temporarily. He woke his girlfriend and told her he was going to open a new restaurant with an actor. He recalls her groggy reply: 'Go to sleep. You're drunk, you're dreaming. Forget about it.' Now he has done exactly that, launching a neighbourhood Roman osteria with Theo James, the handsome 40-year-old Brit you'll have seen in The Gentlemen, The White Lotus, The Time Traveler's Wife or the Divergent trilogy. It's a sweltering day when I first visit Lupa, a few days before the opening. All the doors and windows are open and people wander past, gawping at James, who's hiding under a baseball cap. But others are leaning their heads too: a local gossiping about the fact this place used to be a shoe shop; a teenage girl in search of a waitressing job; a mourner from a funeral across the road, seeking a last-minute loan of a Bluetooth speaker. All this makes Lupa feel like a proper local restaurant — a far cry from the silver screen. Yet it's a well-trodden path from film to hospitality. James's director in The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie, has a pub. But James has long yearned for his own place. 'I've always loved food, always loved restaurants,' he says. His chance came when his wife, Ruth, met a woman at a local baby group who happened to be married to Ed Templeton — an experienced restaurateur who runs Carousel. With their shared love of food (and of Rome) it wasn't long before the two men also became friends. They were having a drink in Templeton's garden when James mentioned that he'd always fancied opening an Italian. And now they have. Hassan was recruited at that Christmas party. 'Naz knows the history of every ingredient and the pathway to it,' James says proudly. When I return to eat a week or so later, the restaurant is packed. The famous face behind it clearly hasn't hurt publicity-wise. Lupa is small and simple: white walls, wooden tables. The only decorations on the walls are wine bottles and a couple of understated bits of modern art from the Jameses' living room. The food is pretty authentic but they've made the recipes a bit lighter to appease fragile London palates. Fried courgette flower stuffed with burrata is remarkably delicate. These often get mushy, but here the batter is light and firm. A salty anchovy sauce eliminates any greasy taste. Alongside we have tomato carpaccio with capers, lemon zest and fried breadcrumbs. These are riccio fiorentino tomatoes, Hassan explains with evangelical enthusiasm. He'll change the variety as we move through the season to ensure he always has the sweetest fruit. We take cured meats and squacquerone cheese — almost thick yoghurt — with deep-fried dough balls. Ask Hassan how he chose each meat — but only if you have two hours to spare. The kitchen is laughably tiny. You can see it through a gap in the wall, three chefs in a room the size of a wardrobe. But such delicious things keep emerging — perfectly al dente pasta, an amatriciana that's fresh and light, a deeply savoury pesto. That said, I'm not a fan of the carbonara. There's too much sauce, making the whole thing too rich. It tastes more Italian-American than Italian-Italian. Still, carbonara is a personal thing. Everyone has a slightly different, very insistent opinion on the true path. I'd have to fight off a thousand Italian grandmothers to defend mine. Finally, porchetta. It's remarkable — the sweetest, juiciest meat surrounded by astonishing crackling. Nobody else in London does porchetta this well. Templeton talks us round to tiramisu. Oh, go on then, and amaros for the table. The coffee in the tiramisu is old school, properly bitter, but the dish still sweet and comforting. 'We wanted to do a restaurant — although they will probably never come — that our kids would like to eat in,' James says. Something 'complex but also Roman comfort food'. He's hit the mark here.★★★★☆73 Highbury Park, London N5 1UA;
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
White Lotus star's new restaurant gets mixed reviews as diners claim food was 'disappointing' and they were 'rushed out the door' after finishing
White Lotus star Theo James 's new London restaurant has received mixed reviews from diners who have complained the food is 'disappointing' and they were 'rushed out the door' to make space for more customers. James, who has reportedly lost out on being named the next James Bond, recently opened an Italian eatery, Lupa, in Highbury Park, north London. The actor teamed up with Ed Templeton, the co-founder of Carousel on Charlotte Street, and chef Naz Hassan, who used to be head chef at Pidgin in Hackney, to launch Lupa. The spot, which serves a menu of Rome-inspired dishes, opened in June. But customers have hit out at the restaurant over its strict dining policies, which include being given just one hour and 30 minutes to order, eat, pay and leave. Others have also said the food doesn't live up to the hype and lacks flavour. Zohras Rose claimed: 'Was a little disappointed with the food which I felt lacked a bit of flavour. 'Tried a variety of dishes and they just didn't hit the spot for me. 'Service was good, though one-and-a-half hours for a sitting is quite rushed and we were offered dessert when we only have 10 mins left.' Chrystelle Foulon said: 'The atmosphere at the restaurant was lovely, nicely designed and pleasant to enjoy a meal. The service was good.' But she claimed: 'However, the food was a little bit disappointing versus the reviews. 'The pasta lacked flavour and included two small pieces of meat. The revisited tiramisu came with a cream that was bland to my taste. 'Also, but frequent in London - the one-and-a-half hour dining limit. 'Being told we had 10 minutes left along with the bill being brought without being asked if we wanted anything else, felt rushed.' Other customers disagree and have left glowing reviews. Kartik Sudhakar said: 'We came to Lupa for lunch, the food was excellent and the vibe is super relaxed.' Alexandre Laforce-Reynolds said: 'Delicious from the focaccia all the way to the tiramisu. Great ambience and lovely staff. Go eat.' Alan Dion said: 'Absolutely fantastic new restaurant. Great food, great service and great value. Loved it.' Speaking ahead of the restaurant opening, Mr Templeton said: 'Theo and I are both Highbury locals and share an ambition to open an enduring neighbourhood classic. 'It's taken eighteen months to make it happen, but we knew it was a special corner of Highbury from the start. We just needed a special chef who could help us bring the Roman dream to life. 'Working together with Naz, we've conceived a menu that's casual, fun and delicious. We want people to enjoy it in its entirety, making sure they save room for the homemade dolci. 'Lupa is the kind of place we've always wanted to have on our doorstep. There are certain Roman dishes that people know but much is still largely to be discovered.' The building at 73 Highbury Park previously housed the Highbury Arts Club, a tapas restaurant which also hosted wine tastings, art exhibitions and yoga classes. Other actors to have opened restaurants in London include Mark Wahlberg, who opened Wahlburgers in Covent Garden in 2019 before it closed a year later. Machete actor Danny Trejo meanwhile opened the first UK branch of his Trejo's Tacos restaurant in November 2023 on Portobello Road in Notting Hill.
