Monica Galetti Joins Homelessness Restaurant in Primrose Hill 2026

Key Points

• 130 Primrose has relaunched in Primrose Hill, north London, as a restaurant and registered UK charity focused on supporting people with lived experience of homelessness.
• Monica Galetti has joined the project as executive chef and trustee, helping shape the food offer and training pathway.
• The restaurant offers paid work, accredited training, six-month contracts, and support into longer-term hospitality roles.
• It is based at 130 Regent’s Park Road and opened on 8 May 2026, with seating for about 50 covers and service across breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• The project builds on its previous life as Home Kitchen Diner, which operated in 2024-25 and placed people with experience of homelessness into hospitality roles.
• The restaurant’s first cohort included prison leavers, refugees, people in addiction recovery and others affected by homelessness.

130 Primrose (North London News) May 11, 2026 restaurant that has reopened with a social mission at its centre, aiming to recruit, train and employ people affected by homelessness. As reported by Hannah Twiggs of The Independent, the project grew out of Michael Brown’s concern after regularly passing both an advertising agency and a soup kitchen on the same street, where the contrast between affluence and need became hard to ignore.

The restaurant is located at 130 Regent’s Park Road in Primrose Hill and has taken over the former site of Home Kitchen Diner. According to Positive News, the new name is linked to the Latin phrase prima rosa, chosen to represent spring and new beginnings.

Why did the project change?

As reported by Positive News, Home Kitchen Diner has now relaunched as 130 Primrose, become a registered UK charity, and set out to continue the same core purpose with a refreshed identity.

The restaurant first opened in 2024 as a social enterprise and operated for a year until August 2025, before entering this new phase.

The earlier version of the project was built around the idea that employment can be a route out of homelessness, rather than relying on charity alone. 

The Independent reported that Home Kitchen employed 15 people considered homeless at the time of its 2024 opening, while Positive News said the previous incarnation had employed 16 people affected by homelessness, five of whom moved into permanent hospitality roles elsewhere.

Who is Monica Galetti?

Monica Galetti is now serving as executive chef and trustee at 130 Primrose, bringing a high-profile culinary name to the project. 

Positive News reported that she said she had seen first-hand how people can rediscover hope, dignity and purpose when given the right support.

She also said she wanted to create an exciting new menu that would attract customers while still supporting the restaurant’s mission.

According to the same report, she plans to build the menu around British seasonal ingredients, later adding touches of her Samoan heritage to give trainees a distinctive development experience.

How does the restaurant work?

The restaurant will offer front-of-house and kitchen roles on six-month contracts, alongside qualifications such as food hygiene and allergen awareness certifications. 

Positive News reported that employees will also receive a stepping stone into further hospitality opportunities once their time at the restaurant ends.

The site seats 50 covers, will open seven days a week from 9am, and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in a brasserie-style setting. 

Positive News also reported that a speakeasy-style cocktail bar is due to open on the lower ground floor later this month, while the menu will feature Mediterranean influences and some Samoan-inspired touches later on.

What happened before the relaunch?

The Independent reported that Home Kitchen opened in September 2024 at the old Odette’s site in Primrose Hill, under Michelin-starred chef Adam Simmonds, and was staffed by people considered socially vulnerable. It said the restaurant offered above London Living Wage pay, a travel card, and a catering qualification.

The same report quoted Simmonds as saying he had been close to homelessness himself and understood that many people on the streets have no family safety net.

It also noted that the restaurant was designed to help people who are often excluded from work because of homelessness or criminal records.

What has the project achieved?

Positive News reported that one former employee, Ade, had experienced street homelessness and hostel living before joining the kitchen team and later moving into full-time work with Soup Kitchen London.

It also said Seb, a prison leaver released into homelessness, went on to work at the Megaro Hotel after discovering a talent for cooking through the project.

Michael Brown said the wider aim was to challenge the way people facing homelessness are seen, arguing that society often focuses on circumstance rather than potential.

He also said hospitality faces a shortage of committed and qualified staff, suggesting the model can address both social exclusion and labour needs at the same time.

How are the different reports aligned?

The reporting from The Independent, Positive News and Secret London is broadly consistent on the central facts: the restaurant is in Primrose Hill, it is now called 130 Primrose, Monica Galetti is involved, and the mission is to employ and train people affected by homelessness.

There are some differences in emphasis rather than contradiction. The Independent focused on the launch of the wider concept and its 2024 origins, while Positive News concentrated on the relaunch, charity status and Galetti’s role, and Secret London highlighted the opening date and the homelessness support mission.

Background of the development

The background to this development is a growing model of social-enterprise dining, where restaurants are used not only to serve food but also to provide training and employment pathways for people who may struggle to get conventional jobs. 

The Independent said the issue matters because homelessness remains widespread in England, while Positive News showed how the restaurant was already working with referral partners including Crisis, Beam, The Big Issue, Soup Kitchen London, Only A Pavement Away and the Beyond Food Foundation.

The move from Home Kitchen Diner to 130 Primrose appears to be an attempt to stabilise and expand the model. According to Positive News, the charity’s long-term ambition is to scale the concept to other UK cities and become a recognised pipeline of skilled hospitality talent.

Prediction

For people affected by homelessness, this development could mean more structured access to paid hospitality work, formal training and references that may help them move into longer-term jobs. For the wider hospitality audience, it may increase interest in social-purpose dining, where customers are also supporting a workforce-development model.

For north London diners, the immediate effect is likely to be a restaurant experience that combines fine-dining standards with a visible social mission. If the project continues to place people into permanent roles, it may also encourage other hospitality businesses to adopt similar recruitment and training pathways.