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Food

Football on the menu

Willian and David Luiz leave Brazil behind at Babbo, their refined London Italian

WORDS Michael Harrold

Babbo is the affectionate Italian term for father, and in this Mayfair restaurant you’re made to feel part of the family.

Waiting staff bustle around you, suggesting wines, taking time to talk through the menu, attentively explaining the provenance of the ingredients, even presenting a prized white truffle in a glass case just flown in from Italy.

Babbo, Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JQ, babborestaurant.co.uk

Co-owned by David Luiz and Willian in partnership with agent Kia Joorabchian, Babbo is just off Piccadilly on Albemarle Street in the heart of Mayfair, but beyond the opulent setting you wouldn’t guess it belongs to a pair of footballers. And Brazilian footballers at that – with its modern twist on traditional Italian dishes.

Babbo is the affectionate Italian term for father, and in this Mayfair restaurant you’re made to feel part of the family.

Waiting staff bustle around you, suggesting wines, taking time to talk through the menu, attentively explaining the provenance of the ingredients, even presenting a prized white truffle in a glass case just flown in from Italy.

Babbo, Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JQ, babborestaurant.co.uk

Co-owned by David Luiz and Willian in partnership with agent Kia Joorabchian, Babbo is just off Piccadilly on Albemarle Street in the heart of Mayfair, but beyond the opulent setting you wouldn’t guess it belongs to a pair of footballers. And Brazilian footballers at that – with its modern twist on traditional Italian dishes.

Read the full story
Sign up now to get access to this and every premium feature on Champions Journal. You will also get access to member-only competitions and offers. And you get all of that completely free!

Huge spray-painted murals on the theme of fatherhood line the walls. There are no shirts, no player pics, or boots in cases, though a Google search quickly reveals that David Luiz and Willian are not shy in entertaining friends here. The Brazil squad ate at the restaurant when in town for a friendly against Croatia in 2018 and Everton’s James Rodríguez is among recent guests.

"WITH THE 10PM COVID-IMPOSED CURFEW APPROACHING AND THE STREETS EMPTY, BABBO IS A WELCOME HAVEN"


The food is exceptional, the flavours exciting. Atsina cress on a beetroot and goat’s cheese salad provides a surprise lift, while little cubes of celery give a crunch to a carpaccio so soft it melts in the mouth. Our mains of seabass – baked in a salt case to retain its flavour – and pan-fried cod with black truffles are delicate and perfectly cooked.

The wines, recommended to accompany each dish, are superb – a Montepulciano with the carpaccio, a French Sauvignon Blanc with the fish then a sweet Sicilian Salina to go with an apricot meringue pie and crème brûlée for dessert. On a cold, autumnal night in London, with the 10pm Covid-imposed curfew approaching and the streets empty, Babbo is a welcome haven.

Babbo is the affectionate Italian term for father, and in this Mayfair restaurant you’re made to feel part of the family.

Waiting staff bustle around you, suggesting wines, taking time to talk through the menu, attentively explaining the provenance of the ingredients, even presenting a prized white truffle in a glass case just flown in from Italy.

Babbo, Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JQ, babborestaurant.co.uk

Co-owned by David Luiz and Willian in partnership with agent Kia Joorabchian, Babbo is just off Piccadilly on Albemarle Street in the heart of Mayfair, but beyond the opulent setting you wouldn’t guess it belongs to a pair of footballers. And Brazilian footballers at that – with its modern twist on traditional Italian dishes.

Football on the menu
Food

Football on the menu

Willian and David Luiz leave Brazil behind at Babbo, their refined London Italian

WORDS Michael Harrold

Babbo is the affectionate Italian term for father, and in this Mayfair restaurant you’re made to feel part of the family.

Waiting staff bustle around you, suggesting wines, taking time to talk through the menu, attentively explaining the provenance of the ingredients, even presenting a prized white truffle in a glass case just flown in from Italy.

Babbo, Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JQ, babborestaurant.co.uk

Co-owned by David Luiz and Willian in partnership with agent Kia Joorabchian, Babbo is just off Piccadilly on Albemarle Street in the heart of Mayfair, but beyond the opulent setting you wouldn’t guess it belongs to a pair of footballers. And Brazilian footballers at that – with its modern twist on traditional Italian dishes.

Penalty Pedigree

Etiam erat velit scelerisque in dictum non. Dictum non consectetur a erat nam at. Scelerisque felis imperdiet proin fermentum leo. Nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh nisl. Nulla at volutpat diam ut venenatis. At urna condimentum mattis pellentesque id nibh tortor id aliquet. Leo a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi. Dui vivamus arcu felis bibendum ut. Pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo urna molestie. Adipiscing at in tellus integer feugiat scelerisque. In arcu cursus euismod quis. Dictum non consectetur a erat nam at lectus urna duis. Facilisi nullam vehicula ipsum a arcu cursus. At tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum sed arcu non. Ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit pellentesque habitant. Vitae sapien pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus. Eget nullam non nisi est sit amet facilisis. Ipsum consequat nisl vel pretium lectus quam. Elit sed vulputate mi sit amet mauris commodo quis. Pretium fusce id velit ut tortor pretium viverra suspendisse potenti.

Babbo is the affectionate Italian term for father, and in this Mayfair restaurant you’re made to feel part of the family.

Waiting staff bustle around you, suggesting wines, taking time to talk through the menu, attentively explaining the provenance of the ingredients, even presenting a prized white truffle in a glass case just flown in from Italy.

Babbo, Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JQ, babborestaurant.co.uk

Co-owned by David Luiz and Willian in partnership with agent Kia Joorabchian, Babbo is just off Piccadilly on Albemarle Street in the heart of Mayfair, but beyond the opulent setting you wouldn’t guess it belongs to a pair of footballers. And Brazilian footballers at that – with its modern twist on traditional Italian dishes.

Read the full story
Sign up now to get access to this and every premium feature on Champions Journal. You will also get access to member-only competitions and offers. And you get all of that completely free!

Huge spray-painted murals on the theme of fatherhood line the walls. There are no shirts, no player pics, or boots in cases, though a Google search quickly reveals that David Luiz and Willian are not shy in entertaining friends here. The Brazil squad ate at the restaurant when in town for a friendly against Croatia in 2018 and Everton’s James Rodríguez is among recent guests.

"WITH THE 10PM COVID-IMPOSED CURFEW APPROACHING AND THE STREETS EMPTY, BABBO IS A WELCOME HAVEN"


The food is exceptional, the flavours exciting. Atsina cress on a beetroot and goat’s cheese salad provides a surprise lift, while little cubes of celery give a crunch to a carpaccio so soft it melts in the mouth. Our mains of seabass – baked in a salt case to retain its flavour – and pan-fried cod with black truffles are delicate and perfectly cooked.

The wines, recommended to accompany each dish, are superb – a Montepulciano with the carpaccio, a French Sauvignon Blanc with the fish then a sweet Sicilian Salina to go with an apricot meringue pie and crème brûlée for dessert. On a cold, autumnal night in London, with the 10pm Covid-imposed curfew approaching and the streets empty, Babbo is a welcome haven.

Babbo is the affectionate Italian term for father, and in this Mayfair restaurant you’re made to feel part of the family.

Waiting staff bustle around you, suggesting wines, taking time to talk through the menu, attentively explaining the provenance of the ingredients, even presenting a prized white truffle in a glass case just flown in from Italy.

Babbo, Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JQ, babborestaurant.co.uk

Co-owned by David Luiz and Willian in partnership with agent Kia Joorabchian, Babbo is just off Piccadilly on Albemarle Street in the heart of Mayfair, but beyond the opulent setting you wouldn’t guess it belongs to a pair of footballers. And Brazilian footballers at that – with its modern twist on traditional Italian dishes.

Penalty Pedigree

Etiam erat velit scelerisque in dictum non. Dictum non consectetur a erat nam at. Scelerisque felis imperdiet proin fermentum leo. Nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh nisl. Nulla at volutpat diam ut venenatis. At urna condimentum mattis pellentesque id nibh tortor id aliquet. Leo a diam sollicitudin tempor id eu nisl nunc mi. Dui vivamus arcu felis bibendum ut. Pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo urna molestie. Adipiscing at in tellus integer feugiat scelerisque. In arcu cursus euismod quis. Dictum non consectetur a erat nam at lectus urna duis. Facilisi nullam vehicula ipsum a arcu cursus. At tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum sed arcu non. Ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit pellentesque habitant. Vitae sapien pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus. Eget nullam non nisi est sit amet facilisis. Ipsum consequat nisl vel pretium lectus quam. Elit sed vulputate mi sit amet mauris commodo quis. Pretium fusce id velit ut tortor pretium viverra suspendisse potenti.

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