Franco’s Opens a New All-Day Bar on Jermyn Street

Franco’s has been part of Jermyn Street since 1945, making it one of St James’s longstanding fixtures. Now, for the first time, the Italian restaurant has added a proper bar, giving the address a reason to operate well beyond the traditional dinner service.

Designed by Conrad Alexander Design, the new space sits at the entrance to Franco’s and is intended to work throughout the day: espresso and breakfast in the morning, lunch, aperitivo from early evening and cocktails later on. It is a useful shift for a restaurant whose identity has historically been tied to the dining room.

The menu, overseen by Head Chef Stefano Turconi, follows the same flexible approach. Smaller dishes include a lobster roll with pickled fennel and basil mayonnaise, sea urchin on toast with avocado and lime, and Cornish tuna tartare with burrata cream, tomato and Tropea onion. More substantial options include potato gnocchi with porcini, Tuscan cabbage and truffled pecorino, alongside roasted venison loin with celeriac, girolles, blackberry and juniper jus.

Drinks move from Italian aperitivo classics into a broader cocktail list, with the wine programme curated by Head Sommelier Paolo Pellegrino. Alongside Champagne and Italian whites and reds are three exclusive cuvées created with Le Pianure, plus two house wines made exclusively for Franco’s.

The interior has also been given a considered update, with light oak flooring, bespoke wallpaper referencing classical Italian art, antique mirrors and a chrome-and-glass gantry around the espresso station.

Franco’s new bar is open Monday to Friday from 7.45am to 10pm and Saturday from noon to 10pm at 61 Jermyn Street, London SW1Y 6LX.