Best Italian restaurants in London
Published 20 September 2025

A dark frontage punctuated by full-length windows reveals a spare-looking café-like interior, a narrow room with plain white walls and a constantly changing chalkboard menu – in short, Artusi is a ‘perfect neighbourhood restaurant’. Down some steps at the back, there is a chef's table for eight, with views of the open kitchen. This is Italian dining, Peckham-style, and none the worse for it.

The infectious straightforwardness of the approach is reflected in a dinner menu that offers three choices at each stage, with a couple of intervening pasta options. Start, perhaps, with a pretty plate of roasted fennel, Russet apples, ricotta and walnuts before moving on to cod with butter beans, purple sprouting broccoli and preserved lemon aïoli or braised featherblade of beef accompanied by confit garlic mash and cime di rapa. Don't want to miss the pasta? Ravioli di erbette (stuffed with wild greens, ricotta and sage) may well have your name on it. The Italian way with carbo-desserts then produces an irresistibly toothsome pistachio and chocolate cake with crème fraîche.

Lunch is a simpler affair (but similar in style), while Sunday brings a great-value set menu. Wines are not exclusively Italian, but those represent the best way of entering into the spirit. They've also got some oranged-up Sicilian Catarratto, if Pinot Grigio now seems a little vecchio cappello. A second outlet is now open at the Underbelly Boulevard in Soho.

As the hurricane of voguish London dining whirls on, it is momentarily easy to forget how much of a gust of fresh air Bocca di Lupo was when Jacob Kenedy opened it way back in the distant land of 2008. If places can struggle to get noticed in the Soho bustle, Bocca suffered no such indignity. Getting in at all was more often the problem. It still delivers an infectiously dynamic ambience, the best seats being the counter perches facing the kitchen, while the menus still change fast enough to make yesterday vanish without trace. Home-baked bread is the business – focaccia and ciabatta are served gratis with olives and oil while you ponder. What the kitchen deals in is regional Italy, not just generic Italy, with ancestral dishes accorded their provenance, no matter how recent or ancient the tradition. Pasta is naturally everything you would expect: a generous plate of orecchiette in a vibrant green sauce of chard, garlic and pecorino, or even simpler rigatoni coated in a luscious cream sauce of nutmeg and more pecorino. Main-course proteins are hearty presentations of top-spec ingredients. A pork T-bone is grilled golden and neatly sliced, awaiting a side of, say, datterini tomatoes and borlotti beans, plus some glisteningly braised chard for good measure. Eye-catching fish dishes could include a collar of grilled amberjack with gremolata or bream baked in a 'sarcophagus' of salt. Bocca's famous salad of radish, celeriac, Parmesan, pomegranate, truffle and parsley still gets an outing, and is still worth trying as an object lesson in the combinatorial arts. Finish with the Gelupo ice creams (also starring just over the road), or something like crème caramel with rhubarb. Service could relax a little, and it could be a little more clued-up. A regionally discerning collection of Italian wines adds to the lustre. Prices at the more affordable end seem pretty reasonable for the location, with small glasses from £5.80.

Mixing a come-as-you-please vibe with upbeat cooking, loud music, a sense of fun and unquestionable value (note the £5 Negronis and spritzes) – the late Russell Norman’s formula for a good restaurant was always guaranteed to win over the local populace. Now run by Monique Sierra, Brutto is as popular as ever, with the checked tablecloths, Chianti bottles and typewritten menu (in Italian and English) summoning up the spirit of a traditional Florentine trattoria.

There is much to applaud here. A plate of anchovies with cold butter curls and St John sourdough is a good starting point, and we are big fans of the pork tonnato with caperberries. Elsewhere, there’s exemplary pasta (perhaps pappardelle with rabbit and lemon or maltagliati with oxtail ragù), plus a punchy, fall-apart beef shin and peppercorn stew, and an 800g Florentine T-bone steak that was shared by three contented diners and pronounced ‘fantastic’ – even the house red they washed it down with ‘was more than acceptable’. Brutto's roast potatoes are also 'something special', too. 

Desserts are no slouch either. We can recommend the tiramisu, but it's also worth looking out for the panna cotta with English strawberries or poached apricots with aged Parmesan. The young front-of-house team is superbly drilled, and there’s an attractive list of mainly (but not exclusively) Tuscan and other Italian wines.

Opened in November 2023, this neighbourhood Italian in Hackney puts the emphasis on home-style cooking with a little transatlantic input from the partly Canadian heritage of the chef. You'll need to head over to Instagram if you want to see a menu in advance, but rolling up and taking pot luck works quite well – how about red mullet crudo with sea purslane and tomato dressing. The decor is as simple as can be (creamy white walls, small café-style tables), while the food puts on little in the way of airs and graces. A cuttlefish and chickpea salad won over a first-timer a treat (the bread handy for mopping up the dressing), while a trio of anchovy and tomato fritters was big on crisp, well-seasoned umami. Classic Italian 'primi' and 'secondi' are rendered with impressive panache, as in perfectly formed, delicate ravioli of nettle and ricotta strewn with pine nuts, or a jade-green wild garlic risotto enriched with squacquerone soft cheese. Away from pasta, also expect the likes of lamb chop and belly with wild mint and roasted potatoes, while a chunky side dish of quartered marinated tomatoes in olive oil and basil is reliably worth a punt. A serving of snow-white ricotta flooded with saba grape syrup is a more enterprising way of finishing, if perchance the fabled tiramisu has sold out. There are pedigree Italian wines to accompany.

Forno is the bakery adjunct to Italian restaurant Ombra, located in a railway arch near Regent’s Canal and Broadway Market. It specialises in Italian baked goods, such as Roman-style, cream-filled maritozzi, custardy veneziana, Colomba Pasquale, and richer-than-the-Agnelli-family gianduja chocolate buns. The Bonet tart, based on a Piedmontese pudding, piped into a chocolate pastry shell, is superb; you’d pay double in a restaurant. Enjoy it all with coffee (a collab blend with Cardiff’s Hard Lines), spiked with Frangelico if you’re that way inclined.  Lunch is a short, simple offering of excellent focaccia, pizza, and toasties. There are also goodies to go – including tiramisu, fresh pasta, sauces and wine. On Friday nights, Forno becomes Brillo, an evening of music, natural wine and pizza.

After years of pop-ups, this Italian-inspired restaurant group is firmly established south of the river with a permanent spot in Peckham (Forza Wine). Now its most ambitious project to date is to be found on the second floor of The National Theatre. The concrete, wood and glass 160-seater is the place to pop in for drinks – Forza’s special cherry Negroni leads the cocktail charge and there’s an interesting list of approachable, modern European wines including plenty by the glass.

 From the kitchen comes a compact, seasonally aware list of Italian-style small plates to share. To begin, we enjoyed a generous serving of cauliflower fritti with aïoli, as well as a satisfying plate of potato, pancetta and porcini mushrooms. As dishes arrive when they are ready, we happily discovered that roasted Delica pumpkin set atop a pool of creamy pearl barley and sage worked really well with pink, well-flavoured slices of lamb shoulder, celeriac and salsa verde. Each of these items was simply executed and tasted deliciously of its excellent well-sourced ingredients, although not everything we sampled passed muster.

However, there was nothing awry about our milk soft serve with roasted apple and a topping of candied walnut; the famed ‘Custardo’ – an affogato made with custard – is not to be missed, either. While on-the-ball staff check if you are dining pre-theatre, such is Forza’s following that few people depart when the final call sounds for the Lyttelton Theatre one floor down – the atmosphere remains lively. It's also worth checking out the pleasant, partially covered terrace looking onto the river and Waterloo Bridge.

At heart, tiny Giulia is a neighbourhood restaurant, one where Endris Kerbizi’s bold, assured Italian cooking draws back locals again and again. A passion for quality runs through every aspect of the place, and the menu embodies the capital's take on Italy – a pared-back aesthetic, a short, regularly changing repertoire and a light, contemporary touch. ‘Never had a duff dish,' just about sums it up.

Seared octopus with cauliflower, creamy potato and 'nduja sauce is a never-off-the-menu must-order, but in season the baked courgette flower filled with ricotta and served with a courgette salad is not to be missed. To follow, there’s plenty of love for the veal cotoletta alla milanese, while the roast lamb rack with braised shoulder, peas and asparagus is reckoned to be as good as anything in London. And if you're craving some handmade pasta, the seafood paccheri is a standout.

Focaccia and gelato (both made in-house) have been praised, while one fan insists that 'they have the best tiramisu I have ever tasted (and I’m Italian)’. However, we have a soft spot for the lemon tart with caramelised apricot. Giulia Quaglia heads the small front of house team, a ‘smiling, friendly presence’ who always finds time to chat and talk food. To drink, there are some classic cocktails and a short list of affordable all-Italian wines.

There’s a rare kind of magic to this homely little restaurant on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Kilburn Lane. Opened back in 2007 by novelist Simonetta Wenkert and IT engineer Avi Reichenbach, it has weathered the storms of financial crashes and pandemics to serve a grateful North London community (including the occasional celebrity). At the heart of it all is the restaurant’s namesake, Avi’s mother Ida, whose culinary traditions from her hometown of Cupramontana in the Marche region of Italy encompass a generosity of spirit that's about more than just good food.

On a summer’s evening, the dining room – timeworn and effortlessly stylish – is flooded with light. Tables, casually dressed in light linens with dried flower posies and flickering oil candles, are populated by a broad cross-section of locals: young friends, families celebrating birthdays, parents with newborns in tow, all enjoying a brief, transportive escape. The aubergine walls are almost entirely filled with old drawings, oil paintings and vintage posters. Trattoria tiles and an antique dresser for the waiters’ station complete the picture.

While Simonetta still steers the ship and Avi takes to the stoves on Sundays, day-to-day service is run by the next generation with an infectious warmth. From the open kitchen, comes a succinct line-up of antipasti, primi, secondi and contorni; unfussy but uncompromising in the quality of ingredients. A salad of raw fennel, chopped radicchio and grapefruit might look rudimentary on the plate, but it's brought to life by the buzz of anise, gentle toasty notes of walnuts and a bright, peppery olive oil. The mainstay of the menu, tagliatelle al ragù Marchigiano, is made traditionally with chicken hearts and gizzards, and simmered slowly into a comforting delight.

For dolci, there’s plenty to indulge in. Try the bitter chocolate and almond cake with gelato, or an affogato alongside a stellar selection of well-priced digestivi. The short, all-Italian wine list is thoughtful and rewarding, and if there’s a saffron and sour-cherry spritz on the menu, make sure not to miss it.

From knitting classes and supper clubs to ice cream sandwiches and country dancing in the street, this ‘green oasis’ is a genuine community hub – and second home to many of its regulars. At its heart is a deli and café selling all sorts of provisions alongside a short menu of Italian-style sandwiches filled to the brim with seasonal goodness – think mortadella with grilled sweet peppers, pickled fennel and aïoli. They also serve pastries from the Little Bread Pedlar at the weekends and ‘the most amazing panettone’ to go with Monmouth coffee, Kernel beer and other drinks. Tables and chairs are laid out on beautiful Bonnington Square if you fancy alfresco. Check Instagram for opening times.

A converted warehouse in the shadow of Tower Bridge is an unlikely spot for a small, independently owned Italian restaurant, but Legare 'punches above its weight,' according to one well-satisfied visitor. Inside, it’s all white walls and stone flooring with tightly packed tables and a centrepiece open-plan kitchen delivering a seasonal, regularly changing menu that’s sensibly short and bolstered by blackboard specials. Chef/co-owner Matt Beardmore honed his craft at Trullo in Islington and we were impressed by the exemplary hand-made paccheri (large pasta tubes) served with a ragù of braised cuttlefish given heft with a touch of chilli and a topping of bottarga. We kicked things off with a dish of cured chalk stream trout, pickled kohlrabi, dill and mustard seeds as well as delicious grilled mackerel with shaved fennel and orange, while our 'secondi' was accurately timed roast quail which arrived in company with onions, sultanas, Kalamazoo olives, pine nuts and pink fir potatoes. The fresh-from-the-oven focaccia seasoned with roasted garlic and oregano is not to be missed, while dessert might promise cannoli with Marcona almonds (priced by the piece) or, perhaps, white chocolate cremoso with passion fruit. Beardmore's business partner Jay Patel (ex-Barrafina) heads a tightly knit front-of-house-team. The wine list comprises some 38 natural tipples sourced from small Italian producers, with a dozen offered by the glass. 

Originally conceived by the owners of the Clove Club, this ‘Britalian’ restaurant is almost as well-known for its bar as its restaurant –so it was with some reluctance that we bypassed the Negroni-based fun in favour of the dining room. Until we clapped eyes on the space itself, that is: a stunning covered garden worthy of a Roman palazzo. Seating is divided between an attractive cosmopolitan room and a terrace complete with a fireplace, cobbles and foliage (you can specify where you sit when you reserve). For the Luca-on-a-budget experience, try the bar, where lunch is currently £32 for two courses. Otherwise, those with cash to splash can knock themselves out with four courses, Italian-style, and a bottle or two from the impressive Italian list – specialist subject Barolo (sub-£50 bottles are few). Vitello tonnato may now be ubiquitous in London but we’ll never tire of it when it's as satisfying as this. The veal is more well done than is fashionable – a good thing – but is tender and flavoursome beneath a generous spoon of tonnato mayonnaise and a frisky celery, artichoke and lemon salad. Terrific stuff. Fresh pasta is a standout: mezzi paccheri with a pork sausage ragù gains depth from anchovy and freshness from mint, while green and yellow variegated ribbons of tagliatelle with rabbit, lardo and green olives are comforting and luxurious in equal measure. Secondi at inspection include Hebridean lamb with caponata, Hereford beef fillet and short rib, and a dish of John Dory with mussels, mousserons, Jersey Royals and a frothy lemon verbena sauce. Tiramisu, like your nonna might make, is a bravely unfancy finish; vanilla panna cotta with Yorkshire rhubarb is a nicely executed pairing, if lacking the ‘Luca’ signature that characterises the restaurant's best dishes. Overall, a confident operation. Credit, in particular, for setting a tone as conducive to business as it is to pleasure.

Frequent queues stretching out of the door are testament to the daily popularity of this trendy modern Italian, which is marked by an ornamental boar's head suspended above the entrance. Manteca is that sort of place, a Shoreditch resource named boldly after a variety of fat – lard, to be precise. Ground floor seats offers views into the open kitchen, while downstairs refrigerated cabinets of home-cured charcuterie whet the appetite (salumi and prosciutto are tip-top and not to be missed). An infectious buzz animates the whole restaurant, augmented by piped tunes that some may find passably funky.

The kitchen is deadly serious about sourcing from the best suppliers, menus often change several times a day, and the chefs have the autonomy to put new dishes together on the fly. The result is a much less formulaic repertoire than is often the Italian case. A plate of line-caught sea bass crudo dressed with green strawberries was a seasonal treat on our most recent visit, while a dramatic swoop of rich, silky duck liver parfait was served with black date jam and a pile of craggy chargrilled bread. Hand-rolled pasta stars in fazzoletti with duck-fat pangrattato or tonnarelli with brown crab cacio e pepe, ahead of mains from the wood-fired oven – perhaps John Dory, plaice or a premium cut of longhorn beef. Finish with a doorstop helping of almond cake with stone-fruit and vanilla gelato.

A minimal-waste approach sees some of the beef fat turning up in the fudge with coffee, while the copiously unusable bits of globe artichoke might eventually find their way into the house cynar liqueur. Service is temperamentally patchy – mostly hail-fellow, occasionally glum. However, eminently kind pricing earns the places bonus points, especially as Italian wines on tap start at £5.50 a glass. Adventurous imbibers, meanwhile, should home in the sections of the list entitled ‘down the rabbit hole’.

Deptford High Street has a jewel in its midst; not a shiny blingy one, but a precious little gem called Marcella. 'The art of simplicity' is their mantra, and this sister to Peckham's Artusi is the sort of unpretentious local Italian joint you find yourself returning to again and again. There's an almost canteen-like sparsity to the interior, but a contemporary Scandi-inspired one, with blackboards revealing where the heart and soul of this place resides. It's a short menu, with trios of starters and mains, plus a couple of pasta dishes available in two sizes (Sicilian casarecce, the twisted one, with spicy 'nduja and mascarpone, say). The produce arriving in the kitchen is evidently sourced with due diligence, from the UK and Italy. In summer, you might find Grezzina courgettes braised in Parmesan broth with Risina beans, or grilled Sucrine lettuce matched with ricotta made from sheep's milk (plus potatoes and peas). Tender pork belly rocks up with Tropea onions and anchovy in a full-flavoured main course, while cod is paired with smoky aubergines and peppers. To finish, dark chocolate mousse gets a sweet kiss from salted caramel. The all-Italian wine list opens at £29, and includes helpfully concise tasting notes. 

Brixton has a reputation for exciting startups and on-trend eateries, so it’s curious to find a traditional Italian neighbourhood restaurant in this part of town. The venue itself is done out in minimalist style (think exposed concrete, mirrors and dark wood accentuating a couple of large-format artworks) and named after the Maremma, an unspoilt region in the south of Tuscany famed for its sparkling seasonal produce (and its luscious Super Tuscan wines).

The kitchen shows its mettle with a repertoire of classically prepared dishes that are ‘deeply Italian’ rather than ornamental. Pasta is a good call, and it's done to a high standard, from pumpkin pansotti with butter and sage or chestnut tagliatelle with cavolo nero, chilli and new season’s olive oil to pappardelle with a velvety wild boar ragù. Elsewhere, rare-breed meats feature on the specials board and there’s prime seafood in the guise of, say, seared rosemary-encrusted tuna with rocket and aged pecorino. Desserts also offer temptations galore, from Stockwell honeycomb gelato to an ‘epic tiramisu’, while cheeses are artisan Italian beauties served with chestnut honey.

You can see the chefs at work, and everything is served without pretension by a knowledgeable, welcoming team. Reasonably priced Italian cocktails are well worth sipping at the counter, and the all-Italian wine list offers some ‘fantastic selections at affordable prices’. The owners also run Il Maremmano, an ‘apericena’ bar just round the corner on Tulse Hill.

Angela Hartnett's Murano fits its Mayfair environs to a nicety. It's a civilised, expansive, lushly carpeted room patrolled by attentive staff, the muted decorative tone risking no jolts to visual tranquillity. Even the pattern of rolling waves on the walls has a lulling effect. The cooking, hitherto more studiedly Italian in origin than it is these days, opts for assurance and refinement rather than  showy gastronomic effect, with soothing textures (silky purées make regular appearances), gently wrought counterpoints of flavour, and the unarguable quality of prime raw materials. The carte exists in a zone of indeterminacy between the standard three courses and a more taster-like six, according to keenness of appetite, and there is a fixed-price lunch offering too. A mosaic of cured salmon bound with dulse comes with shaved fennel in a bright elderflower dressing with sea herbs. The crumbing and frying of sweetbreads allows the main ingredient a rarely seen integrity here, its texture for once not reduced to something from the fried chicken shop, its accompaniments of carrot variations and toasted hazelnuts in a soy dressing completing a satisfying dish. We might wonder whether the rice-crusted breasts of partridge, together with a slender confit leg, could benefit from a little old-fashioned gaminess, but the accoutrements of cauliflower purée and pickled blackberries make sense, while Scottish venison comes with an array of beetroot, pickled walnuts and a ball of braised venison and pork. Dessert could be something as eye-popping as a broad-beamed mandarin soufflé, stuffed at the table first with orange and Grand Marnier compote, then with pancake ice cream; otherwise, you might gravitate towards the unadorned zesty heaven of the caramelised Amalfi lemon tart. Wines are assiduously well-chosen, with some excellent selections by the glass, though our hankering for a dry sherry revealed there isn't a drop in the building.

When Ombra opened its doors by the banks of the Regent's Canal back in 2011, today’s gentrification was a long way off. Now this former retail site is custom-built for a taste of Venetian-style bacaro cool. Drop by on spec, have a drink and a snack with some fresh bread from the owners’ bakery Forno – whatever you fancy. It's the perfect setting with its edgy but wonderfully whimsical interior design, tinted floor-to-ceiling windows and heated terrace for alfresco socialising.

Chef Mitshel Ibrahim (ex-Clove Club) conjures up some rare inventions, taking his cue from the traditions of regional Italian small-plates grazing, but adding flavours that are all his own – how about Carlingford oysters topped with startling cherry mustard? As for his light and crispy crostino topped with the most translucent home-cured pancetta, it ranks as ’one of the singularly most delicious mouthfuls I have ever tasted,’ drooled an inspector.

Other prize nibbles might range from a ‘cauliflower mushroom’ (sparassis) with Calabrian chilli and egg yolk to cured mackerel tartare with fennel and blood orange, although you must leave room for some silky hand-rolled pasta. Tagliatelle with well-judged anchovy butter and a generous amount of shaved truffle is a ‘triumph of less is more’, while crab tortelloni with crab ragù and hen of the woods brings delicacy as well as flavour to the table.

The menu also includes a couple of heftier ‘secondi’ too (a show-stopping dish of melting sweetbreads in perfectly balanced pea and mint velouté, say), while classic ‘dolci’ could herald panna cotta with poached pears or chestnut and roasted quince semifreddo. Since ‘ombra’ is Venetian dialect for a weeny glass of wine, it’s no surprise that drinkers have a ‘really interesting’ choice of Italian low-intervention tipples to sample. There are cool spritzs and aperitifs too.

On paper, this rustic restaurant starts at a disadvantage. Located at the back of an old greenhouse in a plant nursery, with dirt floors and wobbly old tables and chairs, you might wonder what all the fuss is about. Add to that, the difficulty of getting there: it's a decent half-hour walk from Richmond station or a tidy step from the closest bus stop; arriving by car is actively discouraged. But everyone is beguiled by the sheer style and beauty of a place that is brilliantly and artlessly filled with rustic antiques, flowers and foliage. Sit among the urns and furniture in winter; on warm summer days, the whole restaurant is transported outside, where guests dine in a vine- and wisteria-covered courtyard redolent of a Tuscan garden. The Italian-led kitchen, which trumpets sustainability and its affiliation to the Slow Food Movement, uses the nursery as a source of herbs and lettuces, but has access to produce from an related farm in Sussex, while fish is from Cornwall and Italian specialities come direct. Expect clean, fresh flavours and beautiful presentation: carpaccio of monkfish dressed with crème fraîche and chilli has wild fennel and borage petals scattered across it; slivers of artichoke are first chargrilled before the addition of capers, parsley and great chunks of crumbled Parmesan. A sirloin of organic beef from Haye Farm in Devon will be simply grilled and served with a spiky rocket salad; salmon might be salt-baked and accompanied by samphire and spinach. Portions are generous, which makes puddings a little superfluous – although the likes of peach trifle and panna cotta are not the kitchen’s strongest point anyway. Really hungry visitors will do better with the succulent, crunchy garden fritti as an accompaniment to their bellini aperitif rather than saving themselves for the last course. The stiffly marked-up wine list is Italian by inclination – though with a touch of English or French where appropriate.

Housed in Apparel Tasker, a sustainable garment factory in Bow, this Italian café is a cosy corner sealed off by glass so guests can observe the production line while enjoying their coffee and cake. Humble home cooking of Italian and Austrian origin is on offer for weekday lunches and a Friday evening supper club. The simple, affordable menu ranges from soups and sandwiches to pizza and pasta. It changes daily, so don't come expecting anything specific  though you might be rewarded with Sardinian wild fennel soup layered with pane carasau and cheese or fettuccine alla romana with chicken offal.

With its rough-hewn brickwork and bare café tables, Jon Lawson's small but jumping joint off Old Street suits Shoreditch down to the ground. There's a Moorish, as well as moreish, air to some of the dishes, backed up by rock-solid Italian credentials founded on pasta made fresh in-house each day. Upstairs is a more conventional restaurant setting, but the counter seating on the ground floor, with chefs in the thick of it right before your eyes, is where the beating heart of the action is.

Up-to-the-minute flavours are strewn across the menu, from grilled tenderstem broccoli with egg yolk and pecorino to Dorset crab salad with merinda tomatoes and bottarga. High rollers might opt for seared tuna steak with Umbrian lentil and rosemary dressing or grilled ribeye accompanied by celeriac, cavolo nero and horseradish, although it would be a mistake to ignore the pasta – perhaps agnolotti with pork cheek and porcini butter or gnudi bianco (‘naked ravioli’ of ricotta and cavolo nero sauce).

Finish with burnt Basque cheesecake and baked apricots or honey panna cotta with rose-petal advieh (a Persian spice mix). The short wine list includes the expected clutch of skin-contact whites and a bevy of high-octane Italian reds.

When the wind is whistling through Notting Hill, but you still doggedly want to sit outside, the Portobello has a retractable-roof terrace with heaters and blankets, so you can get well bedded in and let the weather do what it likes. It's just one of the reasons this place has such a loyal following, though the benchmark pizzas might have something to do with that too. Properly puffy in texture, the raised edges blistered a little from the wood oven, their toppings are all about pedigree Italian produce – Spianata Calabrian salami, 20-month Parma ham, creamy burrata, buffalo mozzarella, piccante Gorgonzola. A whole one is fairly filling, but if you've arrived with an appetite, there are preliminary pastas such as spaghetti vongole, or paccheri with veal ragù and pecorino, to prime the pump. Simply prepared fish and meat mains are on hand to tempt any pizza denialists, and meals might end with something like bonet – Piedmontese chocolate custard with caramel sauce and amaretto. Get your bearings with the regionally divided Italian wine map that prefaces the list. Prices might seem a bit tough, but there is a serviceable glass selection from £7.50 for house Sicilian blends.

Opened without fanfare or PR bluster towards the back end of 2023, this slick New York Italian is the brainchild of former Soho House COO Martin Kuczmarski, a man who knows a thing or two about running restaurants. From the off, it looks absolutely fabulous, with swathes of Art Deco-inspired wood panelling, proper tablecloths and proper candlelight lending a radiant glow to proceedings. A vinyl soundtrack of 70s disco and soul keeps the good times rolling, although it never intrudes or ruins conversations across the table.

The menu is stuffed with the kind of comfort food that people just love to eat – from lobster rolls, mini hot dogs and bowls of Tuscan minestrone to textbook chopped salad and a raft of pasta classics (spaghetti with meatballs, hot penne arrabbiata etc). Burgers and ribeye steaks are present and correct too, as is ‘The Dover’ sole (suitably finessed with chilli, lime and samphire), while the beef arrosto with mash is up there with the dishes you’d find at the best trattorias in Florence. As expected, desserts hop from New York (baked cheesecake brûlée) to Italy (vanilla panna cotta with summer berries) – and if you fancy a Baileys Shakerato or an Italicus Sgroppino dessert cocktail, they’ll mix that too.

Pre-prandial sips at the bar are a must, and the wine list kicks off at around £40 a bottle, which is reasonable for this part of town. There's also no need to book if you fancy a drink and a snack at the bar out front. In short, this Mayfair hot spot offers some of the best hospitality in London right now, with a side order of irresistible food, in one of the capital’s most alluring dining rooms.

* A casual offshoot called the River Café Café (with its own terrace) is now open, adjacent to the main restaurant. Walk-ins only. Watch for more details coming soon. *

Only a handful of London restaurants can genuinely claim to be ‘iconic’, and this glamorous spot on a Hammersmith backstreet is one of them. Launched by Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray in 1987, the River Café’s mission was to bring the seasonal pleasures of artisan Italian cuisine to the capital. It may be approaching middle age, but this is still ‘one cool restaurant’, frequented by a well-heeled, fashion-conscious crowd who love to eat (and be seen) here. The dining space is filled with light and luminous colours (sea blue, bright yellow), there’s cafeteria-style seating and an open-plan kitchen with a wood-fired oven, while a shiny zinc bar brings you close to the action. Topping it off, an outdoor terrace with a view of the Thames is the perfect summery spot. As for the food itself, everything depends on impeccable supplies from Italy and nearer home, all attuned to the calendar. The culinary approach may be understated but ingredients are treated with the utmost respect, as in a plate of fabulously sweet, split and wood-roasted Scottish langoustines paired with garlic and parsley. Some once-thrilling ideas now seem commonplace (chargrilled squid with red chilli and rocket, for example), but others still create a special magic: a dish of hearty softened cannellini beans with summer girolles, parsley and a slice of crostino could have come straight from a Tuscan farmhouse, while properly gamey wood-roasted Yorkshire grouse (bang in season) with crispy Tuscan-style roast potatoes and a jus laced with a generous splash of Brunello di Montalcino is rustic yet sophisticated. No corners are cut here – even the wine used for cooking comes from renowned estates. For dessert, there are classics aplenty, from the sumptuous and much-copied chocolate nemesis to a citrussy Amalfi lemon tart. Service is charming to a fault, although all this fame and legacy can cost a small fortune: depending on your financial status, it can seem ‘reassuringly expensive’ or downright pricey. And you will need to nurse your bank balance if you plan to indulge in the wine list – a mighty tome packed with Italian gems (including some stunning Super Tuscans) as well as classy Champagnes. Thankfully, around 25 by-the-glass selections (from £13) help to ease the burden. 

The River Café's wittily named offshoot is considerably closer to the definition of a ‘café’ than the adjacent original. It opens early-ish for coffee, pastries and bruschette – local dogwalkers and joggers now map their routes around it – and stays open until late-ish, serving a scaled-back version of its elder sibling's menu. Dishes such as Parma ham, Amarone wine risotto, smashed chickpeas drenched in excellent olive oil or a slice of the famous chocolate nemesis are typical of the repertoire. For the full works, stick to the River Café, but for an impromptu snack or an aperitivo, this is the one. Sit inside (beneath a vast Damien Hirst) or out on the terrace.

Warmth 'with a capital W’ is one of the prime assets at this Islington crowd-puller, which has been hitting all the right notes since opening in 2010. Matching a glowing interior and pleasing comfort with homely but vivacious Italian food, Trullo is a neighbourhood winner – whether you’re seated in the pleasingly modest ground floor (bare boards, velvet banquettes, cream walls, cheffy photos) or settled in an alcove in the atmospheric, low-lit basement. The whole place exudes a happy vibe, helped along by calm, cool, clued-up staff. On offer is a menu of unfussy yet finessed cooking with hand-rolled pasta as one of the star turns – from silky pappardelle with a deeply rich, long-cooked beef ragù to textbook pici cacio e pepe (the comforting squidge of perfectly cooked pasta, the sharpness of pecorino, the heat as you crunch into the cracked black pepper). Paper tablecloths mean you can get messy without embarrassment. After that, the oven and charcoal grill come into play, doling out everything from Brixham brill with confit garlic to spiced duck leg with Marsala – its exceptionally crispy skin contrasting with the sticky, softness of stewed onion, endive and prunes. Details such as the salt-crusted focaccia with fruity, pleasantly bitter Le Ferre estate olive oil for dipping are much appreciated, and there’s no stinting on the booze when it’s tiramisu time. Drinks include a decent selection of vermouths and a comprehensive list of Italian regional wines.