Fraquelli brothers open first La Brasseria Milanese

Third-generation restaurateurs Andrea and Alberto Fraquelli have opened their first La Brasseria Milanese with plans for international expansion.

The brothers, sons of Metropolitan restaurant group founder Stefano Fraquelli and grandsons of Spaghetti House co-founder Lorenzo Fraquelli, opened their first "unpretentious but elegant" Milanese restaurant earlier this month. They plan to expand the restaurant group with further sites in London and international sites in such cities as New York.

The 160-cover restaurant was refurbished from a Getti restaurant (a brand also founded by their father) to the new La Brasseria using private investment plus capital from partners. The restaurant serves Italian staples with modern Milanese twists and flavours.

Rupert Berkmann of Berkmann Wine Cellars has created a wine list of Europe wines to compliment the Italian food. La Brasseria also offers rare or more unusual wines available by the glass by adopting the Coravin method.

The split-level interior has been designed by Fettle. The café and terrace upstairs feature straw-back chairs and terrazzo marble floors. The dining room downstairs is more formal, based on Parisian brasseries.

The artwork throughout the restaurant includes classic Italian film references involving pasta and espresso, as well as original sketches by Milanese designers including Alessi, Achille Castiglioni, and Gio Ponti, maps of the city centre and Lake Como, where their grandfather was from.

Andrea said: "We're delighted to open the first La Brasseria Milanese in Marylebone, and drive our vision forward, with service at the heart of the restaurant and provenance and heritage in every dish."

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