Gennaro Contaldo will open Bolo in Soho in autumn 2026.
Fresh pasta, Bolognese ragù, lemon tagliolini and seafood pasta will feature.
The intimate Italian trattoria will have just 32 covers.
The Italian chef is teaming up with Brava Hospitality Group to launch Bolo in the heart of Soho this autumn.
London’s Italian dining scene is about to welcome a familiar face. Chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Gennaro Contaldo is returning to the capital’s restaurant scene with Bolo, an intimate Italian trattoria opening in Soho this autumn.
The 32-cover restaurant is being created in partnership with Brava Hospitality Group, the company behind Prezzo Italian and the recently revived Jamie’s Italian. Bolo will open on Glasshouse Street, next door to the group’s Prezzo restaurant.
Taking its name from Contaldo’s signature Bolognese recipe, Bolo will draw inspiration from the traditional trattorias of Italy. The menu will be deliberately concise, focusing on freshly made pasta alongside a changing selection of seasonal starters. Drinks will be equally straightforward, with the restaurant adopting a one-wine-per-colour approach.
Gennaro Contaldo Contaldo has already revealed some of the dishes that will shape the menu at Bolo, with a hearty Bolognese ragù joined by recipes inspired by his upbringing on the Amalfi Coast, including lemon tagliolini and seafood pasta.
The opening is significant for the 77-year-old chef, marking his first new restaurant project in nearly two decades. His former restaurant, Passione, opened on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia in 1999 and traded for 10 years before closing in March 2009.
Chef Gennaro Contaldo said: “I’m so excited to be opening up a restaurant in central London again. It’s going to be a small, busy, buzzy trattoria serving some of my favourite dishes. From a hearty Bolognese ragu to Amalfi Coast-inspired dishes of my home like lemon tagliolini and seafood pasta. I can’t wait to feed you all and welcome you to my new home Bolo!”
Contaldo has remained an influential figure in British Italian cooking. Born in Campania, he worked at Antonio Carluccio’s Neal Street Restaurant in Covent Garden, where he met a young Jamie Oliver and became an early mentor to the celebrity chef. Their relationship would continue across television, cookbooks and the Jamie’s Italian restaurant business.
Bolo also follows Brava Hospitality Group’s revival of Jamie’s Italian in Leicester Square earlier this year. Contaldo has remained closely involved with the brand and has regularly visited the London restaurant to help train its chefs.
Bolo is scheduled to open in Soho in autumn 2026.
Where: Glasshouse Street, Soho.
When: Opening Autumn 2026
Contact: www.bravahospitalitygroup.com