'If I Had a...Trattoria' with Da Terra

What if one of London’s greatest chefs turned his Two-Michelin-Star restaurant into an Italian Trattoria for the day?

Hidden behind an unmarked door in Bethnal Green, Da Terra is one of London’s most acclaimed restaurants. Da Terra opened in 2019, winning its first Michelin star within 8 months and its second in 2021. Today, it stands among the country’s best, named London’s Best Restaurant in 2023 and 19th in the UK in 2025. It is a place of quiet confidence and precision, known for intimate service and food that surprises at every turn.

At its heart is Rafael Cagali, one of the most distinctive chefs cooking in Britain today. Born in São Paulo to Italian grandparents. Before opening Da Terra in 2019, he trained under Europe’s most demanding chefs, including Quique Dacosta, Martín Berasategui, Stefano Baiocco at Villa Feltrinelli, Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck, and Simon Rogan at Fera at Claridge’s.

“There’s nobody in London cooking quite like Rafael Cagali.” (Michelin Guide)

Now, for one day only, Rafael is stepping away from tasting menus and fine dining formality to cook the food that shaped him; honest, generous cooking of an Italian trattoria. Expect a relaxed service with wine flowing and plates shared. Handmade duck tortellini with butter and sage, a perfectly crisp veal cotoletta alla Milanese, and a tiramisu classico to finish. It’s the brilliance of the Da Terra team, but in a setting you’ve never seen before.

A Two Star kitchen reimagined as a humble Italian restaurant, serving the kind of food that made them fall in love with cooking in the first place.