“Since the day we opened Carbone, this was always our dream,” says Jeff Zalaznick over whisky and cigarettes. With chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Tollisi, two Italian American chefs from Queens and New Jersey respectively, the trio founded Carbone in Greenwich Village in 2013. It became an instant success, a place almost impossible to book unless your name was Kardashian, Rihanna, DiCaprio or Obama. Jay-Z and Beyonce were practically regulars; people whispered about a mysterious “secret email” that got you through the door. It is a restaurant for beautiful people. Maybe an iteration was always destined for London?
“Once this came to fruition, and we were fortunate it was immediately successful, our next goal was to open in London,” adds Zalaznick, “We must have gone every month, learning and exploring. We were obsessed with the idea.”
