La Famiglia, the celebrated Chelsea restaurant that has served Tuscan cuisine to royals and rock stars from its beloved garden terrace for five decades, faces a crucial licensing hearing next week that could drastically curtail its outdoor dining operations.The Langton Street establishment counts generations of the Royal Family among its patrons. Princess Diana and Prince William shared one of their last public outings together over lunch at the restaurant, while the Prince and Princess of Wales have also eaten there.On October 13, the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea’s licensing committee will consider an application from a neighbouring tenant to slash the garden’s operating hours, a move that has prompted an extraordinary outpouring of support from famous regulars and local residents alike.Francesco Perticarari, a 34-year-old Italian venture capitalist, has asked the council to review La Famiglia’s licence, citing the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm. He rents a £2million property with his Spanish wife, where their two-year-old daughter sleeps in a bedroom situated just four metres from the restaurant’s retractable garden canopy. The couple are expecting a second child, who will also occupy a rear-facing bedroom.Princess Diana and Prince William shared one of their last public outings together over lunch at the restaurant (stock picture) | PAMr Perticarari has reported being disturbed by the sounds of conversation, laughter, occasional shouting, and clinking cutlery and glassware emanating from the terrace.His application seeks to reduce the garden’s permitted hours from the current midnight closing time to 9pm on Monday to Saturday, and from 11.30pm to 8pm on Sundays. He has indicated his willingness to appear before the licensing committee to argue his case.The council received 247 letters backing the restaurant in response to Mr Perticarari’s application.Eric Clapton, 81, whose family has frequented La Famiglia for over three decades, told The Times that to “strip away or heavily restrict the terrace would destroy the very soul and fantastic atmosphere of this lovely restaurant”.Kate Moss pictured at La Famiglia restaurant in Chelsea in 2019 | GETTYBryan Ferry, 81, warned: “Should the garden be forced to compromise its service, the restaurant would lose much of its attraction.”Former footballer Lee Chapman, 66, who has dined there with his wife, the actor Leslie Ash, for 25 years, said: “If it was forced to shut at 9pm it would take away a major element of the restaurant’s considerable appeal.”Actor and director Gary Fannin, 57, argued that “losing the garden which is very much the heart of the restaurant, would be a serious loss not just to the business, but to the character of the neighbourhood.”Made in Chelsea star and jeweller Rosie Fortescue, 36, questioned why the tenant had lodged complaints given the restaurant’s long-established presence. Daniel Haugh, 43, who operates the nearby Myrtle restaurant alongside his cousin, MasterChef presenter Anna Haugh, 45, emphasised that guests had been celebrating milestones at La Famiglia for over half a century.Among the other prominent figures rallying behind La Famiglia are Oscar-winning film producer Lord Puttnam of Queensgate, 85, and Matilde Felix, 30, daughter of former Chelsea FC manager José Mourinho. Banker Sir David Davies, 86, and Daily Mail editor-in-chief Ted Verity also submitted letters in the restaurant’s defence.The Ten Acre Residents’ Association, representing more than 100 households in the surrounding area, told the council that numerous members regularly enjoyed eating in the garden themselves.Philip Richardson, from the council’s noise and nuisance team, acknowledged that La Famiglia’s outdoor dining area had functioned for many years with “minimal complaints”, a point that supporters argue underscores how the current dispute represents an isolated grievance rather than a widespread neighbourhood concern.Despite that track record, the council’s noise team has documented a pattern of escalating disturbances since February last year, when Mr Perticarari twice reported rowdy renditions of “Happy Birthday” within eight days. Inspectors who attended his home in September detected “raised voices and dining” from beneath the canopy, prompting a warning letter to the restaurant.A follow-up visit the next month recorded “multiple overlapping voices, with occasional raised voices, laughter, and shouts”, leading to a formal noise abatement notice. By July, inspectors found the sound levels in the second-floor bedroom considerably louder, with the child “awake, tearful, and unable to sleep”, resulting in a fixed penalty notice.Mr Richardson concluded there was a “significant potential for ongoing public nuisance from the use of the garden” and recommended banning customers after 9pm alongside implementing a garden noise management protocol.La Famiglia was founded in 1975 by Alvaro Maccioni. Since his death in 2013, his daughter Marietta, 61, has run the restaurant with her 92-year-old mother, Letizia.