Charlotte Street

In the summer of 2001, after finishing my GCSEs, I found myself working front of house in Bertorelli’s on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, writes Adam Hyman.

I remember finishing evening shifts and walking down the road in awe of the heady buzz of our capital city, the bright lights and crowds of people. Thinking about it now, I’m reminded of the film Sliding Doors, in which busy scenes were filmed at Bertorelli’s.

In the past five years or so, the area lost some of its big-hitter restaurants. Restaurateurs have mentioned that trading has been tough and rent high. That telling vibrancy wasn’t there. 

There are suggestions of rosier times in 2022. I was walking from Tottenham Court Road tube to ROKA on Charlotte Street for lunch on Saturday and as I made my way towards the restaurant, I got to thinking of the recently launched Mowgli, the new Where the Pancakes Are, Carousel relocating from Marylebone, and Nuno Mendes’ soon-to-open Lisboeta.

It’s been a while since I was working on Charlotte Street. I know I’ll certainly be spending more time on it over the coming months.