Edward Lucie-Smith invited The London Magazine to Acciuga, the Italian restaurant in Kensington celebrating its one-year anniversary yesterday.
Acciuga means ‘anchovy’ in Italian and suddenly everywhere you notice the little fish logo on the menu and artwork on the wall.
Down the road from our HQ we arrive at the not too small, not too large restaurant owned by Guglielmo Arnulfo.
But the main artwork on the walls is the work of Italian pop-artist Andy Fumagalli who stands out a mile in his heavily patterned trouser suit.
Upon arrival trays of Bellini’s were to hand to the vast and cosmopolitan guests flowing in.
Edward introduced us to Jason Colchin-Carter, the founder of Isis Phoenix Arts. Then he introduced us to his friend Della Howard, benefactor of the Wallace collection, dressed in an embroidered floral long summer coat, which looked like it could have been from the V&A alongside accessorises to match. After an elaborate and fascinating conversation, it so happened that her brother-in-law is Sir Michael Howard, hailed as the greatest living historian in Britain.
Finally we met graduate art student, Anya Myagkikh, born in Moscow, but now living in London, a walking artwork with red hair, red lips and a black headband with pompoms. But it was her cotton embroidered book-clutch bag that fascinated us all: Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky – we all wanted one!
A short speech followed in which the owner made a great comparison between the creative similarities between both food and art and after the privilege of tasting their summer menu, this was very much agreed.
by Heather Wells