CeCe's Italian Restaurant Opens in Notting Hill With Glamorous All-Mirror Design
CeCe's Italian restaurant in Notting Hill London opens with mirrored interiors, classic Italian menu and Hollywood glamour from Public House Group. Read more.
Prajakta Sanjay Warwadkar 
LONDON, June 8, 2026 — CeCe's, a new Italian restaurant from the Public House Group, opened in March 2026 at 123 Clarendon Road in Notting Hill, bringing a fully mirrored interior, copper-panelled walls and a menu of Italian classics to a site once occupied by celebrity haunt Casa Cruz.
The opening marks the group's most design-forward project to date and its second dedicated Italian restaurant, following Canteen which earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand at the 2026 awards. CeCe's moves in a distinctly different direction, trading Canteen's casual warmth for a high-gloss environment built around spectacle and atmosphere.
CeCe's Italian Restaurant Brings a New Kind of Glamour to Notting Hill Dining
The two-floor restaurant sits behind a copper entrance door that has become something of a calling card for the venue. Inside, London The Inside describes an interior of green velvet banquettes, orb lighting, table lamps, palm trees and mirrors covering virtually every surface including the bathrooms, where fully mirrored walls have drawn particular comment from reviewers across multiple publications.
The ground floor centers on an impressive bar. Upstairs, a more exclusive walk-in space accessed via a mirrored staircase has quickly become the destination of choice for the restaurant's more visible clientele. The terrace adds a further dimension to the venue's footprint.
Public House Group Founders Return to Italian Cooking With a Bolder Concept
Phil Winser, James Gummer and Olivier van Themsche launched Public House Group with The Pelican gastropub in Notting Hill in 2022. The business has since expanded to include The Bull in Charlbury, The Hero in Maida Vale, The Fat Badger, Canteen, and most recently The Hart in Marylebone.
CeCe's represents the group's clearest departure from the gastropub model it built its reputation on. Van Themsche described the decision to take on the Clarendon Road site as driven by the space itself. "Initially we looked at the space as it was once a pub, but we fell in love with the glamour and unique design," he said. "The surreal interiors and character hidden behind the copper door inspired us to create a restaurant that felt both current and exciting, while retaining the allure of traditional hospitality."
Winser has previously stated that the team wanted CeCe's to function as a form of escape. "We want CeCe's to feel glamorous and fun somewhere our guests can come to escape the day to day and transport them to a different place and time," he said.
CeCe's Italian Menu Stays Close to Tradition With Precise Execution
The kitchen takes a restrained approach to Italian cooking. The menu features aubergine parmigiana, bream carpaccio with caviar, fonduta agnolotti, chicken vignole and bistecca alla fiorentina. The emphasis, consistent with the group's wider philosophy at Canteen, lies in executing familiar dishes well rather than reinterpreting them beyond recognition.
Reviewers have identified the fonduta agnolotti and polenta fritti as standout dishes. The chicken vignole has drawn more mixed responses. The bream carpaccio, with its caviar garnish, places the menu firmly in the premium Italian bracket, aligning with the restaurant's broader positioning. For context on the regional Italian cooking traditions behind dishes like agnolotti and bistecca alla fiorentina, Hospitality Career Profile offers useful background.
Wine List and Cocktail Program Reflect the Restaurant's Upscale Positioning
The wine list leads with Italian labels but extends into Burgundy, Bordeaux, Spain, Portugal and the United States. Larger-format bottles are available throughout, catering to the group-dining occasions the restaurant is designed to attract. A curated selection of big-ticket bottles sits alongside more accessible options.
The cocktail program runs alongside the wine offering, with classic martinis and original combinations available from the central bar. The Chaplain an apricot-forward gin cocktail has emerged as a popular order according to early reviewers.
CeCe's Fills a Site With Significant History in London's Restaurant Scene
The Clarendon Road address previously housed Casa Cruz, an Argentine-Italian restaurant that functioned as one of West London's more visible celebrity dining destinations during its run. The A-list familiarity with the address was already established, meaning CeCe's opened into a location with built-in recognition among a discerning London dining audience.
Public House Group's track record of quiet launches operating without significant pre-opening marketing has become a pattern across its portfolio. CeCe's followed the same approach, opening in early March 2026 with minimal public announcement before reviews began circulating from late March onward.
The restaurant has moved quickly to establish itself as a scene, drawing diners who come as much to be seen as to eat, over martinis and pasta in an environment that rewards dressing up. That dynamic positions CeCe's as something relatively rare in London's current restaurant landscape a new opening that has successfully created a sense of occasion around the act of simply going out to dinner.
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