Norma: The Stafford to open first independent restaurant with help of Ben Tish

A five star hotel best known for its traditional English charms is set to indulge guests with Italian hospitality, as it opens its first independent restaurant in its 107-year history.

The Stafford in St James’s is launching the Sicilian-inspired Norma this summer, their first and only off-site restaurant. It will open on Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, and while a townhouse site has been secured, no opening date has been decided.

The Stafford says the project has been inspired “by the grand café culture found in Sicily”, but will go beyond the pasta typical of the region, with the menu acknowledging the impact of Arabian Muslims on the southern Italian island. The Arabs ruled there for two-and-a-half centuries, introducing everything from orange trees to arancini, and the Moorish influence still stands today.

Using seasonal Italian and British ingredients, the menu will include grilled meat and fish, anti-pasti and pastas, and there will also be a crudo bar at the entrance serving raw seafood. The Standard understands the new site is named for Pasta alla Norma, a classic Sicilian meal of aubergines, tomato and ricotta, which will also appear on the menu in some form. The dish itself is named for the opera by Bellini, who was born in Catania, a city on the Sicilian coast.

The opening will be overseen by the hotel and its culinary director Ben Tish, who joined the hotel in January last year, after 11 years with the Salt Yard Group.

Mr Tish told the Standard: “I'm really excited about launching Norma with the Stafford team, as it’s a concept I'm passionate about and have been working on for a while. I'm intrigued by Sicily and the Moorish influences found in its culture and architecture, and Norma has been inspired by much time eating and drinking though this part of the world.”

Stuart Procter, the Stafford’s general manager, said: “Norma will be a great addition to the already strong restaurant offering at the Stafford and we are looking forward to bringing the exceptional levels of service for which we are already known, to a brand-new concept and location.”

An ambitious project, Norma will be spread over three stories; on the ground, the restaurant; on the first, a cocktail bar; and above that, a private dining space. It becomes the Stafford’s latest substantial food and drink offering, the hotel already well regarded for the Game Bird, its acclaimed dining room, and the American Bar, which was relaunched with considerable success last summer.

The hotel also boasts wine an extraordinary wine cellar which dates back almost 400 years, to its days as a private residence.

Norma will open in the summer, for more information, visit normalondon.com.