Hotfoots it to Mayfair - Mayfair Times

FRIENDS AND BROTHERS-IN-
LAW SIMONE LAVARINI AND
LORENZO FRAQUELLI SET UP
THE FIRST SPAGHETTI HOUSE
ON ONE FLOOR OF A BUILDING
ON GOODGE STREET. NOW, 55
YEARS ON, THE GROUP HAS 11
LONDON RESTAURANTS AND
STILL PLACES FAMILY AT THE
HEART OF ITS BUSINESS,
DISCOVERS LUCY BROWN
BELOW: THE LAVARINI FAMILY
CELEBRATES 55 YEARS OF SPAGHETTI
HOUSE – WITH SOME PASTA
“It’s a very simple dish, Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino: garlic, olive oil and chilli
pepper. It’s very simple, very full of flavours, full of taste. I enjoy that. At the moment,
one of my favourite dishes is the sea bream, I really like our sea bream. It’s a whole
fish, and filled with lemon and herbs. And I guess I always enjoy the Scaloppa – veal
Milanese in breadcrumbs. I always enjoy that, that remains one of my favourites from
childhood.”
It’s the 55th anniversary of Italian restaurant group Spaghetti House, and
managing director Luigi Lavarini is talking about his favourite dishes on the menu.
He’s just waved off his father, founder Simone, and sister Stefana, the company’s
marketing director, after a celebratory lunch at their Westfield London restaurant, one
of 11 across the city. His brother Riccardo is the commercial director. Family is
clearly important to Spaghetti House, whether it’s the Lavarinis, the staff or the
regular customers.
Luigi feels it’s part of why the company has survived in a difficult market. “We’re
not fashion orientated, we’ve never tried to be leaders in any way. We’re just strong,
family-style, trattoria-style, Italian restaurants,” he explains.
The chain was founded by Simone Lavarini and Lorenzo Fraquelli, both northern
Italians, who met in London. A junior partnership in Jermyn Street’s Mocaris
eventually led to the friends opening the Bamboo Bar coffee house in Golders Green
in 1953, and in 1955 they launched the first Spaghetti House in Goodge Street.
The restaurant grew from just the ground floor to occupying four floors, and other
locations followed. Fraquelli and Lavarini become brothers-in-law when they married
two sisters, so Luigi is following in the footsteps of his uncle and his father. Simone,
now in his eighties, still visits many of the restaurants every week.
Luigi feels that the staff have played an important role in the restaurant group’s
success. “We retain very good staff, who have remained with us very often over the
years, so customers are used to meeting people who they know in our restaurants,”
he says.
In Mayfair’s Duke Street Spaghetti House, manager Jose da Silva is a good
example. Da Silva started as a waiter at Spaghetti House 22 years ago and worked
his way up, moving to different branches. He recently joined the Duke Street
restaurant from Sicilian Avenue.
Recipe for success
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