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Roberto Costa and the team behind the hugely successful restaurant group, Macellaio RC, have now opened their fifth London site on Fitzrovia’s Store Street. As with the other Macellaio RC restaurants, the new Fitzrovia site combines both restaurant and butcher, with the renowned Fassona beef dry-aged and butchered in-house. Furthermore, at Fitzrovia, Macellaio RC’s legendary charcuterie, tartare and steak dishes are served alongside a menu of traditional Italian pizzas.

Situated on Store Street in what was once the Duke of Bedford’s filling station, the restaurant’s interiors take inspiration from its past occupation. The walls are adorned with the accessories of Roberto’s first Fiat Cinquecento as well as his favourite toy-racing track from when he was a child, and the staff are kitted out in mechanics overalls. At the front of the restaurant is a mural of Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford, famous as an aviator, ornithologist and for her part in the British women’s suffrage movement; here depicted driving through the original petrol station gates.

All of Roberto Costa’s restaurants focus on using the very best Italian produce, cooked simply to allow the natural flavours to shine through. The signature Fassona beef from the Piedmont region of Italy, is specially selected as it is extremely flavourful and tender, as well as being extraordinarily low in fat and cholesterol due to the unusual hypertrophic muscle growth in the cows. As is traditional in Italy, every part of the cow is used in the restaurants, from the prime steak cuts to the bone marrow, tongue, heart, liver, tripe and brain.

Eight delicious pizzas are offered alongside the meatier dishes, and although traditional in their toppings, Roberto’s playful nature is expressed through their names. With the pecorino and black pepper Ice Ice Baby, the dough is topped with ice before cooking to guarantee a soft centre and crispy outer crust. Further pizzas include Jack and the Beanstalk with charcoal-grilled vegetables, tomato sauce and herb- infused oil, and Three Little Pigs with tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parma ham and smoked Datterini tomatoes. Macellaio RC’s pizza dough is made to a secret recipe, using a blend of Italy’s finest flours mixed with naturally sparkling Ferrarelle water, creating an irresistibly light and crispy crust.

To accompany the hearty Italian fair, Roberto has personally selected a wine list that represents grapes and vineyards from across his homeland. All wines are available in magnums, with a range also by the glass and carafe, with the larger bottle size minimizing oxidization, aiding the aging and maturation process, and creating deeply aromatic and flavourful wines.

Speaking of Macellaio RC, Roberto Costa says: “Our meats and produce tell the history of people and their passions; of countrymen working in olive groves, farmers breeding quality livestock, fishermen sailing the high seas, butchers doing justice to the finest cuts of meat. Only in our restaurants can you experience this amazing story – on a plate.”