The New Sale e Pepe at The Langham London
I love the confidence of a restaurant that opens inside one of London’s grandest hotels and immediately feels as though it’s always belonged there. Hidden just off the buzz of Oxford Street inside The Langham, Sale e Pepe Mare hums with life. Champagne glasses clink beneath soft golden lighting, sharply dressed waiters glide between tables carrying towers of seafood and plates of glossy pasta, while a glamorous crowd settles in as though they’ve escaped to the Italian Riviera rather than central London.
The newly opened restaurant – inspired by the coastal regions of Italy and the legacy of the iconic Sale e Pepe in Knightsbridge – feels wonderfully cinematic from the moment you arrive. Warm wood panelling, marble details, plush fabrics and soft blue tones create a fabulously decadent dining room that somehow balances old-school glamour with contemporary polish.
A seafood counter overflowing with catches of the day sits proudly on display, pasta is finished tableside in giant wheels of cheese, dessert trolleys weave through the restaurant and cocktails arrive with dramatic flourish. It’s old school London dining in the best way.
Our waitress, Faye, only added to the atmosphere. Charming, effortlessly attentive and genuinely warm throughout the evening, she struck that rare balance of making service feel polished without ever becoming overly formal. Great hospitality can completely make a meal, and she made the entire experience feel even more special from start to finish.
Cocktails arrived first, and the Portofino Negroni instantly justified the hype surrounding the drinks menu. Made with Bombay Sapphire, 1757 Vermouth Rosso, Campari and fig leaf, it was smooth, bitter and slightly herbaceous, with the fig adding a softer, almost rounded finish that made it dangerously drinkable.
The menu itself celebrates Mediterranean seafood with a modern edge. To start, we ordered a selection of bites and smaller plates designed for sharing. The Otoro Toast was spectacular: rich bluefin tuna layered onto buttery brioche with confit garlic, tomato and espelette chilli.
Then came the Taglio di Halibut, delicately sliced and dressed with yuzu kosho, lemon and olive oil. Fresh, bright and beautifully clean, it was one of those deceptively simple dishes that relies entirely on ingredient quality and precision.
The Vongole al Forno – Josper-baked Veraci clams swimming in white wine, garlic and parsley – was my favourite and brought a deeper, smokier richness to the table, while the Gamberi Aglio e Peperoncino delivered perfectly charred prawns coated in garlic, parsley and fiery Calabrian chilli.
For mains, the Bucatini Cacio e Pepe arrived with maximum tableside drama, tossed directly inside a wheel of pecorino before being plated. Thankfully, the flavour backed up the performance. Silky, glossy and aggressively peppery in all the right ways.
Alongside it, the Tagliarini al Granchio was equally impressive: delicate pasta tangled with sweet king crab, datterino tomatoes, parsley, garlic and olive oil. Perfectly cooked and beautifully seasoned, it tasted effortlessly elegant.
Just when we thought the evening couldn’t become more indulgent, the dessert trolley appeared. We opted for the lemon meringue pie and the tiramisu – both classics, both excellent. The tiramisu in particular was textbook perfection: light mascarpone, rich coffee flavour and just enough booziness.
The meal closed with homemade limoncello, sharp and ice-cold, providing the perfect final flourish.
What Sale e Pepe Mare gets so right is atmosphere. London has plenty of excellent Italian restaurants, but very few manage to feel this transporting. Between the Riviera glamour, exceptional seafood, polished service and genuinely exciting cooking, dinner here feels less like a standard restaurant opening and more like the arrival of London’s next great dining room.
Honestly, it’s one of the best – and certainly most enjoyable – meals I’ve had in London so far this year.
Find out more > www.saleepepe.co.uk/sale-e-pepe-mare-the-langham-london
