Markus Thesleff on 50 years of Sale e Pepe: 'You’re competing with people's memories that aren't real'

For the restaurateur Markus Thesleff, restoring Sale e Pepe was personal. The restaurant — Knightsbridge’s original chic Italian, 50 this year — has long figured in his life. “I remember all these lunches and dinners here,” he says, looking around the room wistfully. “My parents would bring me as a kid. It was the hottest spot in town, this and San Lorenzo.”

He taps the table. “I mean, really, this was the spot. I remember coming in, the hairs on the back of your neck would go. It was cool. And later on, before we went to the West End to go to like Tramp, or L'Equipe, we’d come here first.”