Entering Martino's, the Sloane Square venture of former Soho House's COO Martin Kuczmarski, feels a bit like stepping into a very, very sexy time machine. Designed by David López Quincoces and Fanny Bauer Grung of Milan-based design house, Studio Dragò, the restaurant oozes old-school glamour, with velvet seats and burl-wood-clad walls that wrap you up and throw you into the golden age of dining, even if only for a few hours.
Like many people who grew up dreaming of working in media, I’ve long harbored a romantic fascination with the opulence of journalism in the ’90s. The endless, champagne-filled lunches and Carrie Bradshaw-style glamour. It's a world I've since accepted I could only access through the accounts of others, and I have, with ravenous appetite. Nowadays, though, the average journalist is more likely to take their lunch al-desko than they are to spend hours being wined and dined at London's best restaurants. Gone are the days of private jets and alcohol-fueled work days. But one Wednesday afternoon, as I sipped on a martini and munched on a zucchini fritti, surrounded by men in suits and ladies who lunch, it no longer felt quite so far away.
