Chef Dara Klein has announced the opening date for her first permanent restaurant, Tiella Trattoria & Bar. The restaurant will open on Wednesday 21 January at 109 Columbia Road in London. Reservations are now live.
Tiella is a personal project for Dara. It reflects her long-held ambition to run her own restaurant and continue her family’s hospitality tradition. She is launching the venue with her childhood friend and business partner, restaurateur Ry Jessup. The opening marks the next step in her career, following strong support for her regional Italian cooking across London.
The restaurant sits inside a 175-year-old former Victorian pub. Guests enter through a 15-seat bar that leads to a 30-cover dining room with an open kitchen. In warmer months, a front terrace with 20 seats will open for drinks and meals. The space uses terracotta, red and yellow tones, with original features uncovered during restoration. Dara and Ry sourced furniture from antique markets and family heirlooms.
“From the moment we stepped inside 109 Columbia Road, I couldn’t help but notice how much it resembled Maria Pia’s, my parent’s trattoria.” says Dara “Each of the design decisions come from the heart, from close childhood memories. Tiella is an amalgamation of these memories along with the building’s pub history. Since our residency at the Compton Arms, I saw a link between pubs and trattorie – lots of wood, tiles, mirrors, personal artefacts, bric a brac and family photos.”
Family history shapes every part of Tiella. The site once housed The Globe pub, built around 1865. Dara grew up in her family’s restaurant in New Zealand. Her grandmother ran a pasta business in Italy, which inspired Tiella’s logo. Her parents helped introduce the Slow Food movement to New Zealand.
Tiella will serve regional Italian food based on Dara’s Pugliese roots and her childhood in Emilia-Romagna. The cooking style is homestyle and generous. Ingredients come from trusted Italian and British suppliers, including artisan pasta makers and specialist produce markets.
The menu features classic dishes such as passatelli in broth, orecchiette with cime di rapa, chicken Milanese and bay leaf panna cotta. The drinks list will include Italian wines, local beers on tap and seasonal cocktails. Guests can drink at the bar even if tables are full.
“We’re starting small. As the restaurant unfurls, the menu will grow and adapt,” says Dara. “I hope to cook here for decades, so we’re taking baby steps – seeing what resonates, listening to the locals. They’ll be our most treasured guests, and the space needs to make sense to them. Once we’ve found our rhythm, we’ll roll out Sunday specials, set lunches, celebratory evenings – the whole shebang.”
Tiella Trattoria & Bar
109 Columbia Road, London, E2 7RL
Opening hours:
Wednesday to Saturday (dinner): 6pm–10pm
Saturday and Sunday (lunch): 12pm–3pm
Website: www.tiella.co.uk
Instagram: @tiella_trattoria
Reservations: www.opentable.com/r/tiella-trattoria-and-bar-london
A limited soft launch will run from Friday to Sunday before the official opening.