i. Biography
Italian restaurant work at one address is a discipline of repetition: the same room, the same cuisine, the same standard tested through service after service. Paulino Alves has been Executive Chef at Scalini London, United Kingdom, since 1988, and that tenure places his cooking inside a long practice of Authentic Italian cuisine built on a traditional, seasonal approach. The kitchen draws on market-fresh ingredients sourced from Italy and locally, with the emphasis kept on clarity rather than novelty. Italian cooking in this register depends on restraint: produce first, technique in support, seasoning used to define rather than cover. Across more than 35 years, Alves’s work has become closely bound to Scalini London and to a style of restaurant cooking that values freshness, balance, and the familiar pleasures of the Italian table.
The Path
The Executive Chef role at Scalini London carries weight because it is attached to continuity, not rotation. Today, Paulino Alves is the Executive Chef of Scalini London. A restaurant’s identity is formed through repeated decisions: what to buy, what to keep, what to refuse, how far to intervene. Alves has been part of the Walton Street restaurant from its beginning, and his more than 35-year climb to the top reflects a working life spent inside those daily choices, through service, season, and repetition. The Italian kitchen at Scalini London has long favored directness and generosity over excess. In that context, Alves’s path is the restaurant’s own development: one sustained cuisine, refined over time, where continuity becomes part of the craft standard.
The Work Today
Authentic Italian cuisine at Scalini London is practiced through a traditional and seasonal approach. As Executive Chef, Alves works with quality seasonal and regional produce and with market-fresh ingredients sourced both from Italy and from local suppliers. The method is classic without needing to be static. Seasonality determines what is worth serving; regional character gives the cooking its reference points. Italian produce and local sourcing meet in a kitchen where freshness, balance, and precision matter more than ornament. Branzino al Cartoccio gives the clearest read on the house language: fillet of sea bass with Puglian extra virgin olive oil, freshly chopped herbs, and aged balsamic from Modena. The construction is direct: clean fish, green herbs, oil for depth, balsamic for lift. Its appeal sits in the same terms used for the cooking at Scalini London: simple, uncomplicated, delicious Italian flavours.
Signature
Paulino's signature dishes include Branzino al Cartoccio. A signature dish in this style has to hold its line without decoration doing the work. In Branzino al Cartoccio, Alves frames sea bass with Puglian extra virgin olive oil, freshly chopped herbs, and aged balsamic from Modena, relying on judgment, proportion, and restraint rather than embellishment.
Acclaim
Recognition in a long-running restaurant kitchen is often measured by duration under pressure. Alves has been part of the Walton Street restaurant from its beginning, and the more than 35-year climb to the top gives the title its force: one chef, one address, one sustained Italian kitchen. The acclaim is tied to consistency rather than spectacle. Since 1988, the Executive Chef role has placed Alves at the center of the restaurant’s identity, with cooking rooted in season, region, and the discipline of letting strong ingredients remain legible. The measure is continuity, craft, and the enduring appeal of Authentic Italian cuisine.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Paulino
What is Paulino Alves's current role?
As of 2026, Paulino Alves is Executive Chef at Scalini London.
What is Paulino Alves known for?
Authentic Italian cuisine.
