Summary
In the Sixties, Hollywood's glitterati and the cream of English society flocked to San Lorenzo restaurant in London. Here, the owners LORENZO and MARA BERNI tell JANE SLADE about the days when they welcomed the likes of Peter Sellers, Sophia Loren and royalty and give the secret recipes to some of their world-famous dishes
The in-crowd know it as London's 'celebrity canteen', but its proper name is San Lorenzo, the hottest restaurant in town, where a side portion of glitterati is guaranteed with every meal - at no extra charge. You never know who you are going to see as you walk along Knightsbridge's Beauchamp Place and venture under the faded awning to be greeted by Mara and Lorenzo Berni - who have been 'hosting' guests in what Lorenzo likes to call 'their osteria' for more than 40 years. Even the menu is not much changed since the couple opened the restaurant in October 1963 - the polenta recipe is the one Lorenzo remembers as a child, and the anchovy sauce was devised by Mara's mother.See the full content of this document
Extract
San Lorenzo's Star Menu
In 1963 you could buy a meal at San Lorenzo for under Pounds 1, but you had to bring your own wine because they didn't have an alcohol licence. But that didn't deter the rich and famous. In those early days, Lorenzo and Mara would dress up in butcher's aprons and pop plates of piping hot pasta before budding pop stars such as Cilla Black and Lulu, who would come in after appearing on the TV pop show Ready, Steady, Go!, which began the year San Lorenzo opened.
'I remember when Lulu came in - no one had heard of her,' recalls Lorenzo.'The pop singer Bobby Darin was sitting at one of the tables, so I introduced them. Lulu was so excited she ran outside to find a phone box to ring her mother in Scotland to tell her.' Anyone famous called Bobby seemed to go to San Lorenzo, ...See the full content of this document
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