Premier Hospitality

The Petersham and La Goccia

Petersham
Written by Roma Publications

Petersham Nurseries – The Petersham and La Goccia

The Boglione family have created a business that inspires, celebrates and shares exceptional knowledge, passion and creativity. This has naturally evolved from their personal passion into a thriving business. In turn, they have established a culture and raised a ‘Petersham’ family of like-minded individuals who share their lifelong passion for organic gardening, culinary excellence and ethical and sustainable sourcing, as well as drawing out beauty in the simplest of things.

The family have recently launched two new restaurants in Covent Garden – The Petersham and La Goccia.

La Goccia is a vibrant, all-day restaurant with an open kitchen, wood fired oven, large grill and dining bar. From breakfast through to dinner, dishes are prepared by chefs in front of guests adding an element of drama and theatre to the ambience. La Goccia offers Petersham Nurseries’ interpretation of the Italian aperitivo and small plates known as ‘cicchetti.’ The emphasis on seasonality is key to the extensive menu that will change regularly with the best seasonal produce.

At La Goccia Bar, for the first time, Petersham Nurseries will serve its own signature cocktails. Inspired by nature and evolving with the seasons, the cocktail list is a thoughtfully created menu of crafted cocktails using botanicals, herbs and edible flowers.

Petersham

La Goccia – Credit Paul Craig

A place of calm away from the hustle and bustle of the city, The Petersham is an elegant and refined á la carte restaurant.  Respecting the Slow Food philosophy of Good, Clean and Fair, the traditions on which Petersham Nurseries Richmond was founded, The Petersham focuses on the finest seasonal produce, quality ingredients and Italian flavours, serving lunch and dinner, with pre and post theatre menus.

Drawing inspiration from the family home, Petersham House in Richmond, the interiors demonstrate the Bogliones’ passion for contemporary art, Murano glassware and understated grandeur, reflecting their personal tastes and collections. Gael, Francesco and Lara Boglione have been intrinsically involved in the aesthetics of the venture.

With an innate understanding of the family’s vision, their concept was materialised with the help of Interior Designer Bianca Martinelli. All technical and architectural aspects of the project have been the responsibility of Ian Laverick, assisted by Stuart Stevenson of GMA Architects, together with Andrew Carter who has been coordinating the entire site as Project Manager and Quantity Surveyor.

Speaking to Premier Hospitality magazine about the project, Bianca Martinelli told us:

“Together with Atlas Refurbishment, we began construction work on site in March last year. The property is divided into four units –A lifestyle and homeware shop with a florist, a delicatessen with a cellar and now the two new restaurants.

“The intention was to bring Petersham Nurseries to Central London, so we carefully looked our destination in Richmond and thought about how we could translate elements of our brand to a very different setting. The one thing we knew was that we were not trying to replicate the rustic charm of Richmond in the city centre.  What we did want however was to dissect the DNA, and express it in an urban, sophisticated environment.

“La Goccia is a completely new concept for Petersham Nurseries. The interiors reflect our love of natural materials.  These are shown in both a rustic and a contemporary style: the tables are made roof beams from old countryside houses and hand hammered iron supports, while the floor is sage green polished concrete and the bar drives your attention with its beautiful bronze leaves. The idea behind the bar was to capture the leaves of a forest bed, this was the starting point from that we then extended to most of the other elements in the space. Our tables, wall lights, door handles and bar have all be created specifically for us.

“Both the Boglione family and I have Italian heritage and by working with artisans in Italy we have brought age old traditions to London to create an interior that is unique to the London scene.

“The Petersham restaurant is more elegant and sophisticated. Once again, your attention is drawn to the details that can be seen everywhere, from the unusual mint stone tables with an embossed leaf pattern to the handmade chairs and leather sofas down to the colourful glasses and tea stands. Our love of texture is also represented in the antique mirrored walls, soft hand dyed leather seating, green marble table tops and handmade chocolate terracotta floor.

“I think I can be proud of this project. In these past two years I have put my heart and soul into it and my mind was always looking for inspiration everywhere I went. The interiors within this project have enabled me to present my love for organic beautiful spaces and attention to the very detail without any compromise. I always had a great passion for food and I love cooking. The opportunity to design my first restaurant, combining two of my greatest passions, has been a wonderful experience.

“I have previously designed retail units, offices and private houses and I have worked for Baciocchi, Prada’s Architect, and Ralph Lauren. However, I have loved the organic nature of this project which means much more me. This has been a new challenge and when you have such an exciting opportunity; you just want to give the most you can.”

La Goccia and The Petersham opened on 23 April 2018.

Petersham

The Petersham – Credit Paul Craig

Atlas Refurbishment (N) Ltd

Atlas Refurbishment (N) Ltd is a leading fit-out contractor, specialising in building refurbishment and fit-out works for the hospitality, retail and leisure sector. The company has been in operation for more than 30 years and within this time has built up a wealth of industry knowledge and experience.

Past projects for Atlas Refurbishment (N) Ltd have included Westfield Shopping Towns; The Ametsa Restaurant within The Halkin Hotel for COMO Hotel Group; York Designer Outlet and Cheshire Oaks Shopping Village for the McArthur Glen Group; as well as Nationwide Total Fitness Health Clubs, Enfield Retail Park and Midway Retail Park for Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). In addition, Atlas Refurbishment (N) Ltd has delivered various projects at Meadowhall Shopping Centre, Sheffield on behalf of British Land.

Most recently, Atlas Refurbishment (N) Ltd have been involved with the Boglione family on their new development and conducted all fit-out works. Atlas were appointed as the main contractor throughout Phase 1 of the project which involved the Delicatessen, the deli brings the spirit of a traditional Italian grocery store to an elegant setting in central London and The Shop which is nestled within an impressive Grade II listed building, sunlight through three Victorian atriums illuminates the treasures inside the emporium.

Phase 2 involved La Goccia Restaurant, which is a vibrant, accessible restaurant with an open kitchen, wood fired oven, large grill and dining bar as well as The Petersham Restaurant which is a place of calm away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The Petersham is an elegant à la carte restaurant.

Commenting on their involvement with the project, Gavin Guest, Operations Director, Atlas Refurbishment (N) Ltd, said:

“Francesco Boglione and his family, along with Bianca Martinelli are extremely passionate and this shines through when we worked with them. It has been a real pleasure to be so actively involved in this scheme and to see their delight when the end result of both phases was revealed.

“This is a beautiful Grade II listed building and we are very proud of our achievements on this project.”

Roy Guest, Managing Director, added:

“At Atlas Refurbishment (N) Ltd we are a family-run business, so we understand the importance of working together to make a project a success. Our history exceeds that of many other contractors and our skill set and industry knowledge we believe is the key to all of our achievements.

“We are very proud of the strong client relationships that we have built up and many of our clients return to us because of our attention to detail – we must be doing something right!”

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