Venetian-style bàcaro Augustus Harris to open in Covent Garden
A new Venetian-style bàcaro called Augustus Harris is set to open in London's Covent Garden later this month.
The 35-cover restaurant will serve cicchetti and other bar snacks alongside wine and cocktails in the evening, and sell wine and Italian produce during the day.
It is named after Sir Augustus Harris, the 19th century manager of the Drury Lane Theatre.
It is set over two floors and offers a curved copper bar that will display the cicchetti available that day, and wooden shelves will be laden with olive oil, wine, pasta, biscotti and other Italian dry goods, all available to take home.
Augustus Harris will offer a concise all-Italian wine list and a range of classic cocktails.
Food includes crostini such as; crudo di montagna, goats cheese and fig, burrata with pesto and rocket, whipped ricotta, sea salt and herbs and pancetta, fennel and ricotta salata. Simple bar snacks will also be available, including: panzanella, radish and herb salad, salumi and stracciatella cheese.
Sir Augustus Harris, whose statue stands directly opposite, was considered the father of modern pantomime.
Prior to opening the restaurant, McDermott spent three years working in finance in London, before moving to New York to train at the International Culinary Centre and working at Morandi in the West Village.