Iconic eaterie where Diana courted lovers shuts up shop
SAN LORENZO was such a London institution that the Rolling Stones once rang the bell at 3am demanding dinner after a late-night recording session. But, sadly, the Knightsbridge restaurant appears to have served its last plate of pasta.
‘It’s the end of an era,’ a source tells me. ‘San Lorenzo won’t be reopening.’
Opened in Beauchamp Place in 1963, it served the rich and famous for six decades until the pandemic. Although the management had pledged to reopen last September, that didn’t happen and its building stood empty yesterday.
‘It’s very sad, but like so many businesses in Central London, it hasn’t survived the pandemic,’ the source says.
Its most devoted customer was Princess Diana, who used to call its owner, Mara Berni, her ‘Mother Confessor’ because she was such a trusted confidante. Mara ran the restaurant with her husband, Lorenzo, until her death in 2012 aged 79. Their daughter, Marina, took over.
Diana used to take Prince William, and held trysts there with James Hewitt, James Gilbey and other suitors.
Mara had become close to the Princess after going over to her table one evening, taking hold of her wrist and declaring how unhappy Diana was in her marriage to Prince Charles. Mara became known for her psychic abilities, particularly after she took one look at Madonna in 2000 and announced: ‘You are pregnant.’ Shortly afterwards, Madonna discovered Mara was right and she gave birth to Rocco Ritchie in August that year.
Princess Margaret had been introduced to the restaurant by her friend, the comedian Peter Sellers. Other guests included a young Sir Rod Stewart, who is said to have ordered liver and bacon. He picked up first the liver, then the bacon, wiped them with a napkin, then returned them to the plate and ate them, explaining: ‘I don’t like the gravy.’