Kurt Zdesar to open new London restaurant & bakery

Renowned restaurateur Kurt Zdesar is to open a new restaurant on Chiltern Street, London, W1 in a deal made through Shelley Sandzer on behalf of landlords Frogmore, Galliard Homes and CJ O’Shea.

The 4,000 sq ft restaurant, which translates as ‘forge’ in Italian, is due to open as part of The Chilterns development in October.

Stefano Stecca, formerly of Novikov in Mayfair and Toto’s Restaurant in Knightsbridge, will be joining as Head Chef at Fucina.

The restaurant interiors have been designed by Andy Martin Architecture, featuring a unique undulating celling lined with red brick to resemble the inside of a traditional Italian pizza oven.

A private dining room downstairs looks directly into the kitchen, providing a chef’s table experience. Fucina will be open seven days a week with an all-day offer and will cater for 120 covers in total.

In addition to the Fucina site, the deal for Zdesar also includes a second property on Paddington Street that will be converted into a specialist bakery. Opening in November, the ‘panetteria’ will be headed by ex-Princi Head Baker, Massimiliano Porta, and sell homemade produce from the Fucina kitchen.

Ted Schama, Joint Managing Partner at Shelley Sandzer, said, “We are very pleased to have acted in this deal and once again engaged with an exciting concept launching in the heart of London.

‘Our key strategy was to secure the most exciting and suitable restaurant to complement the Chilterns development and the surrounding area, the well-known home to Andre Balazs’ Chiltern Firehouse and other standout sites. We had numerous offers, but Kurt Zdesar and his new concept struck us as a perfect fit, adding value to what is already a very special location.”

Tim Allibone, Director of Asset management at Frogmore, added, “Shelley Sandzer acted with great expertise in this deal and delivered an exciting new venture in the form of Fucina. The Chilterns, W1 has been created as a modern flagship address for central London and we are thrilled to be entering this partnership with Kurt Zdesar, who brings further prestige to our development.”