The best Italian restaurants in London
London's Italian restaurant scene is as varied as the food-loving country itself, from old-school trattorias to new-wave small plates, and, of course, the best homemade pasta. Whether you want fresh antipasto, bowls of steaming risotto, hearty ragu or boozy tiramisu, these are the best Italian restaurants in London. Pull up a stool for an aperitivo, find a cosy candlelit corner or book out a big table for a family feast. For more Italian inspiration, see our pick of where to find the best pizza in London.
How we choose the best Italian restaurants in London
Every restaurant on this list has been selected independently by our editors and written by a Condé Nast Traveller journalist who knows the destination and has eaten at that restaurant. When choosing restaurants, our editors consider both high end and affordable eateries that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination. We're always looking for stand-out dishes, a great location and warm service – as well as serious sustainability credentials. We update this list regularly as new restaurants open and existing ones evolve.
Justin De SouzaSale e Pepe, Knightsbridge
Best Italian restaurant for: a flashy night out
Dish to order: cacio e pepeIt takes a lot for the utterance of a London restaurant to raise eyebrows and activate envious lip-licking: “How did you get a table?!”. Sale e Pepe is one such address.
The Knightsbridge restaurant opened its doors in 1974 and quickly became synonymous with the Dolce Vita lifestyle and old-school Italian glamour. Priscilla Presley and Rod Stewart are among the superstar Italophiles spotted slurping bucatini and sipping zesty cocktails in the corners – although staff remain tight-lipped on who they’re expecting to rush through the door. Thesleff Group, which owns Mexican-Japanese hotspot Los Mochis, acquired the restaurant in 2022 and drafted plans to return the glamorous hideout to her former glory. Hamilford Design has led the design efforts, drawing inspiration from classic Italian design found in the townhouses of Milan; midnight blue walls, dressed tables beneath eye-wateringly expensive art, and bronze mirrors stretching the compact in every direction. It’s a facelift sure to be the envy of many fabulous 50-somethings in this part of town.
Is it ‘small plates dining’ if it’s Italian? It’s debatable, but, while the beaming waiter’s encouragement to “order for the table” is an easy feat with a menu so filled with favourites, portions are hearty enough to enjoy a multi-course meal with an a la carte main each. Regardless, share we did, juicy prawns, herby tuna tartare and crispy shards of bread to pierce the plump burrata – the nucleus of a food-fuelled séance in the dimly-lit corner (put phones away or prepare to embrace the embarrassment of the necessary camera flash).
Bubbles flowed, punchy Negronis followed, and we again decorated our table in treats. Cacio e pepe arrived on a wiry pedestal (as it should), the combination of black pepper and rich parmesan triggering a fresh wave of wine orders. My first veal Milanese was a revelation, obligingly coated in a gluten-free crumb to cater for a companion’s intolerance. Pockets of ravioli sat, not swam, in a rich tomato sauce, stuffed with spinach and velvety ricotta. There’s always room for pudding when tiramisu is present, so in we dived, cleansing our tastebuds with zingy limoncello before heading into the night, stuffed and smug that we’d secured a sale a pepe experience before the rest of London discovered its back in business – and better than ever. Connor Sturges
Address: Sale e Pepe, 9-15 Pavilion Road, London SW1X 0HD
Website: saleepepe.co.uk
Matt RussellThe Dover, Mayfair
Best Italian restaurant for: New York-style dining
Dish to order: chicken cordon bleu in a pizzaiola sauceIt’s rare for a restaurant to open in Mayfair without making a fuss. The arrival of glitzy new establishments with such a coveted postcode is often documented in real-time across digital tabloid pages as influencers and celebrities funnel in for DJ sets and bottomless bubbles.
That isn't The Dover's style. Perhaps it’s Martin Kuczmarski’s background as Soho House’s COO or a response to the oversaturation of heavily papped spots in this corner of the capital, but this opening was an understated affair. Three days of ‘friends and family’ sittings were followed by in-the-know diners arriving at the New York-style Italian. They, in turn, spread the news by word of mouth. Arriving on a drizzly April afternoon, we would have walked straight past if it wasn’t for Google Maps leading the way. Heaving the currant-red drape aside unveils a space akin to a Big Apple speakeasy, candlelit tables on either side of a walkway that leads past the bar, a series of dining booths, and finally into the main dining space. Milanese designers Quincoces & Drago took charge of the interiors, a sturdy cocoon of curved American Walnut panelling illuminated by Art Deco lamps and flickering flames.
The bar snacks caught our attention more than the starters. Crispy cigar-sized zucchini and asparagus fritti stand tall on a glass plinth like firewood, shaved black truffle adorns an oozy cheese sauce quattro formaggi and a contender for the prettiest (miniature) hot dog in town stands proud. For the main event: a plump chicken cordon bleu in a pizzaiola sauce, a comfort-sized bowl of spaghetti meatballs, plus sides of mashed potatoes. Dive into the homemade pasta and, for a moment, you’re home, tucked up on the sofa far from the chitter-chatter of W1.
“There’s always room for the best part,” we’re assured as we agonise over the pudding menu. We tested this hypothesis with a zesty slice of baked crème brulée cheesecake and sour cherries. With a whisper of Savinguan Blanc still in our glasses, we retreated once again to the bar with the intention of more Martinis – The Dover's speciality. Connor Sturges
Address: The Dover, 33 Dover Street, London W1S 4NF
Website: thedoverrestaurant.com
PhilipvileIl Pampero at The Hari, Belgravia
Best Italian restaurant for: elevated classics in a chic setting
Dish to order: lobster linguini with tomatoes stracciatella and a tarallo crumbleWhen we think of neighbourhoods with the best Italian food, Belgravia doesn't necessarily spring to mind – but Il Pampero has changed that. Set within the confines of boutique hotel The Hari, with its bistro-esque geometric tiles, leather-clad booths and splashings of moody greens and browns, head chef Angelo Albera produces authentic Italian dishes from locally-sourced ingredients. Kick the meal off with seared scallops served with apple purée, crispy potato, roast baby onion and a tangy yoghurt sauce. For mains, expect generous plates of homemade pasta from classic pici cacio e pepe to rabbit or lamb ragù by way of ravioli and cavatelli. There's also grilled meats, fish, and vegetable medley. We recommend the honey-glazed duck breast with orange chutney, spicy cabbage and Barolo jus or roast aubergine stuffed with rocket, pesto and vegan ricotta. For pudding, tiramisu is the rite of passage, but there's a passionfruit and hazelnut mousse that had us close to risking a food coma. The wine list is just as impressive, with bottles originating from across Italy – think Umbria, Trentino, Tuscany… the list goes on. Zahra Surya Darma
Address: The Hari, 20 Chesham Pl, London SW1X 8HQ, United Kingdom
Website: ilpampero.com
Luca, Clerkenwell
Best Italian restaurant for: a special occasion
Dish to order: mezzi paccheri with pork sausage ragùLuca stands out among Clerkenwell’s residential dwellings and office blocks with its emerald green facade. If it wasn’t already on your radar, it should be now – the restaurant was awarded its first Michelin star in 2023 and is busier than ever. Warm candle-lit interiors and earthy tones are paired with chic Italian furnishings – think overflowing bowls of lemons perched on countertops and large vintage lampshades dangling over old-school seating booths. The main dining area is a pared-back room with elegant gold drink trollies and red-leather seating, surrounded by exposed brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. There are three private dining rooms, two cosy nooks, a bright terrace with a glass roof covered in twisting green vines, a mimosa tree that flowers bright yellow in spring, and a burning log fireplace for cold winter nights.
The open kitchen turns out fresh pasta and modern Italian plates with a British twist. Start with the crisp parmesan fries before moving on to starters. First, there are roast Orkney scallops served on a bed of crushed ice with bright red chorizo paste; creamy burrata topped with Italian peas and broad beans; and vitello tonnato – a creamy veal dish with tema artichoke, celery, capers and preserved lemon. Shells of cappelletti cacio e pepe with white asparagus and morels deserve a shoutout from the princi section. We also loved the mezzi paccheri with pork sausage ragù, tomato, anchovy and mint, an ambitious combination that works well. Secondi changes depending on the season, but here to stay is the ever-popular Hereford beef fillet with braised short rib, roasted onions, cavolo nero and smoked potato. It’s soft, succulent and has an incredible, full-bodied flavour. Once you’ve eaten pudding (we had warm lemon tart), carry on your night with a late-night tipple at the bar – the Negroni is excellent. Sophie Knight
Address: 88 St John Street, London EC1M 4EH
Website: luca.restaurant
Manteca, Shoreditch
Best Italian restaurant for: East London Italophiles
Dish to order: 'nduja steamed musselsThis Italian joint made its way around London before finally settling down out east; first as a pop-up in Mayfair before scooting around the corner to Soho and finally finding a permanent home in Shoreditch. Chris Leach, formerly of Petersham Nurseries and David Carter, Smokestak founder, cooked up the idea together; cool, stripped-back interiors, a vibey atmosphere and, crucially, perfectly cooked Italian plates that bagged this place a Bib Gourmand just a few months after opening. The must-orders on the menu speak for themselves; spicy and salty ‘nduja steamed mussels, rich brown crab cacio e pepe; creamy house-made ricotta served with courgette and chilli. A few years after appearing on the London food scene, this is still one of the tables to book. Sarah James
Address: Manteca, 49-51 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3PT
Website: mantecarestaurant.co.uk
Bardo, St James
Best Italian restaurant for: a glitzy evening with live music
Dish to order: Cotoletta alla Milanese – aka breaded veal cutlet, with roasted tomatoesThis is not the place for a low-key supper; let us establish that from the off. The dining room at Bardo St James is dark and sultry, and the atmosphere is surprisingly intimate considering the fairly vast space they have to play with. Live musicians tinkle away, meaning that this is a restaurant which has my most-coveted accolade: you can hear the music and your date perfectly, but not a word from the tables around you.
The long menu is split to make choosing less of an ordeal, and it's refreshing to go to a restaurant where you needn't hear a peep about “ordering lots to share” nor dishes “arriving when they're ready”. Start with antipasti of oozy polenta with truffle, roasted scallop with berlotti bean puree or burrata. Make like an Italian and move onto pasta (we like the team's elevated take on cacio e pepe ravioli) before tackling the secondi section – perhaps roasted seabass, caramelised black cod or, our favourite, the veal Milanese. Order another cocktail and while the night away to a live soundtrack – this is a gorgeous spot for special occasions, or just a Tuesday night treat. We won't judge. Sarah James
Address: 4 Suffolk Place, London SW1Y 4HX
Website: bardostjames.com
Noci, Islington
Best Italian restaurant for: comforting pasta and plentiful portions
Dish to order: silk handkerchiefs with wild mushrooms and egg yolkNoci might be a newcomer to the London restaurant lineup, but head chef Louis Korovilas is no stranger to the pasta scene, heralding from Bancone and Michelin-starred Locanda Locatelli. His new venture is a buzzy neighbourhood dining spot on Islington Green, where friends, couples and colleagues gather around tables laden with Sicilian street food and fresh pasta.
Starters are in no way an afterthought to the mains here. Creamy burrata comes wrapped in sliced petals of zingy beetroot, and the nduja arancini comes with a kick, although the leek, walnut, taleggio and gorgonzola torta fritta – oozy with a nutty crunch – was a highlight. We find it hard to resist cacio e pepe on a menu, and Noci’s was every bit as buttery as it should be. While the sweet scallops and pancetta pappardelle smothered in cavolo nero sauce was memorable, it’s the silk handkerchiefs with scattered wild mushrooms and a rich egg yolk centre that we’ll be going back for. Sarah Allard
Address: Noci, 4-6 Islington Green, London N1 2XA
Website: nocirestaurant.co.uk
Danielle SiobhanCampania & Jones, East London
Best Italian restaurant for: rustic interiors and Southern Italian cooking
Dish to order: gnudi with sage and butterOn a cobblestone corner just off Columbia Road, this cosy spot is a neighbourhood favourite. Inside is rustic and welcoming – exposed brick walls, wicker lampshades, a wood-burning fire, hanging dried flowers and candlelit tables – and dishes arrive on handmade ceramics from local pottery shop Nom. Campania serves a mix of handmade traditional and contemporary hearty Southern Italian recipes. Menus change daily depending on what’s fresh and available, although there are a few popular constants: comforting pappardelle ragu and the cheesy gnudi dumplings which are soaked in butter and sage. We recommend ordering the Hackney wild bread smothered in olive oil to start and a big bowl of fresh pasta. For pudding, you’ll want to try the homemade overly boozy overly creamy tiramisu. With only a few precious covers, Campania books out quickly, but tables sprawl onto the streets in summer for alfresco dining and in winter outdoor, tables are heated to keep your toes warm. Sophie Knight
Address: Campania, 23 Ezra Street, London E2 7RH
Website: campaniaandjones.com
Pizzeria Mozza, Marylebone
Best Italian restaurant for: Cali-inspired dishes
Dish to order: fennel-sausage pizzaCalifornia’s queen of dough Nancy Silverton is widely regarded as one of the world’s best chefs – and her Michelin-starred flagship restaurant, Osteria Mozza, bagged her a spot on Netflix’s Chef’s Table. This is her first London opening – on the ground floor of the jaunty Treehouse Hotel on Regent’s Street. Trailing vines and terracotta floor tiles give the space a Mediterranean gloss, but the Italian feel is as authentic as it comes – the team sourced furniture from across Italy: handmade glass lighting from Venice, iron chairs from Milan. Italian antipasti – fluffy arancini, thinly sliced prosciutto di Parma with sweet Italian melon – are followed by pillowy pizzas. We recommend the fennel-sausage option; smothered in fior di latte, soft red onions and scallions and chunks of fennel sausage. Sarah James
Address: Pizzeria Mozza, Treehouse Hotel London, 4-5 Langham Place, London W1B 3DG
Website: treehousehotels.com
Fiume, Battersea Power Station
Best Italian restaurant for: outdoor seating
Dish to order: Scottish crab and Amalfi lemon tagliolini and the tiramisuFrom D&D London (the bread arrives fresh from its own bakery), Fiume is a buzzy and contemporary Italian restaurant along Battersea Power Station’s waterfront. Industrial-themed interiors in brown and brassy hues spill out onto a foliage-clad terrace overlooking the Thames – an uncontestedly romantic spot replete with fairy lights and soothing river activity in the evenings. Far from your typical neighbourhood trattoria, Fiume feels positively modern with a menu designed by Francesco Mazzei (also behind Mayfair’s Sartoria and Radici in Islington). The chef has given old classics a fresher face while stretching to more Mediterranean plates now hard-baked into Londoners’ menu expectations. Service also feels Mediterranean in places – staff negotiate an indoor-outdoor maze of plants and tables with aerobic panache – yet remains upbeat with hints of that legendary Italian charm.
Order a zingy avocado and shrimp salad or Puglian burrata for antipasti, Scottish crab and lemon tagliolini to start and then deep-fried courgette – an Italian staple done well here – alongside a rich and deeply cheesy aubergine parmigiana or wild-mushroom and sausage pizza. For specials, expect plates such as taglionlini cacio e pepe served either with seasonal truffle, for a creamy, well-pitched ode to the Roman classic, or saffron and porcini mushrooms. The reasonable prices – pizzas start at £10, an Aperol Spritz is £9 and a bottle of Lombardy white is £27 – encourage a lengthy sitting, as does the pretty riverside view should you manage to bag a seat on the heated terrace. No matter where you’re sitting, the tiramisu is a highlight: easy on the Marsala but a velvety, spongy paean to the pudding, covered with lashings of cacao powder and finished off with strong coffee. By Rosalyn Wikeley
Address: Fiume, Battersea Power Station, Circus West Village, London SW8 5BN
Website: fiume-restaurant.co.uk
Canto Corvino, Spitalfields
Best Italian restaurant for: small plates
Dish to order: the beef short-rib RossiniAndrew and Ninai Zarach, who used to rootle around for top-notch Italian ingredients to import, own the two Manicomio restaurants in Chelsea and St Paul's but this is new territory for them. Head chef Tom Salt (sometimes visible in the open-plan kitchen) has loosened up the Italian menu without going too bananas. The menu's to-the-point and small-platey, though a main should be ordered. A sharing slab of four-colours-pink seafood crudo - slivers of king prawn, sea bass, salmon and mullet - will vanish in seconds, followed closely, perhaps, by soft twists of duck tortelli peppered with borlotti beans and slices of sausage. Many mains arrive with the bonfirey scent of the Josper grill. A poached-pear pudding was a total surprise, an artistic swoop of pansies, tufts of panettone, blackberries and muscat-soaked grapes. It's all so good you'll consider dropping by for breakfast the next day. Rick Jordan
Address: Canto Corvino, 21 Artillery Lane, Spitalfields, London E1
Website: cantocorvino.co.uk
Ida, Queen’s Park
Best Italian restaurant for: a cosy supper
Dish to order: the super creamy penne con guanciale affumicato, panna e porriIn a Grade II-listed former corner shop on the cusp of leafy Queen’s Park and quietly cool Kensal Rise, this family-run Italian joint has been producing steaming plates piled with pasta from its half-open kitchen since 2007. Tiny tables jostle among the shelves and fridges stocked with imported and homemade Italian food that is for sale by day, when the restaurant becomes a deli, and the walls are barely visible beneath retro posters. Recipes come from owner Avi’s mother, a home cook born in a hilltop town near Perugia, for whom the restaurant is named. Order an antipasto of silky cold cuts, creamy gorgonzola and crunchy crostini, followed by bowls of hand-rolled pasta tossed in punchy ragù, scattered with clams for an excellent spaghetti alle vongole or – our favourite – penne topped with smoky pig’s cheek and cream. Go for a carafe of the Sicilian house white, which is a lemony Pieno Sud, or a beer from local brewery Wolfpack, and make a mental note to return for breakfast, served on weekdays. By Sarah James
Address: Ida, 222a Kilburn Lane, Queen's Park, London W10 4AT
Website: idarestaurant.co.uk
Officina 00, Old Street
Best Italian restaurant for: industrial cool on Old Street
Dish to order: the fried raviolo cacio e pepe starterNamed after the flour typically used to make pasta, this contemporary pasta workshop and Shoreditch restaurant (interiors are tiled in green, and there are lots of trailing succulents) is playing with Italian tradition and flavours. Grab a seat near the pasta station, where hipster chefs in aprons roll, fold and pinch fresh pasta into all sorts of shapes. A soft gnocchi is made with pumpkin and fried with sage and butter, then dotted with some sharp blobs of gorgonzola that help cut through the rich butter. Corzetti, a round, frisbee-like pasta, is cooked with white wine, wild mushroom, fennel, sausage and parsley; shell-like cavatelli comes with padron peppers, almond pesto and crispy coppa. We could have taken or left the starter of zucchini fritti with burrata – it’s the pasta that has locals coming back week after week. If you try just one thing to start, make it the fried raviolo filled with cacio e pepe. Tabitha Joyce
Address: Officina 00, 156 Old Street, London EC1V 9BW
Website: officina00.co.ukNorma, Fitzrovia
Best Italian restaurant for: on-trend Sicilian flavours without the queues
Dish to order: if it’s on the specials menu, order ravioli with sheep’s cheese and wilted greensJust around the corner from Fitzrovia’s it-restaurant of the moment Circolo Popolare, low-lit Norma is (like Circolo) a Sicilian restaurant that serves (like Circolo) hearty plates inspired by the Italian island. Unlike its more-hyped neighbour, it is not plagued by hour-long queues – book a table at one of the discreet booths, surrounded by tiled floors and arches that give the dining room a Moorish feel. Authentic plates come thick and fast – spaghettini fritters are crisp while a chickpea panelle (also a fritter) is fluffy, and loaded with zingy salsa verde. We liked the namesake pasta alla Norma, which is a simple supper with tomatoes, aubergines and ricotta. Mains nod toward Sicily’s close relationship with nearby northern Africa in dishes such as seafood stew with saffron couscous or roasted North Sea hake with pumpkin, 'nduja and pickled tomato. All the wines are Italian – we recommend the bold Puglia red Negroamaro, which can be ordered by the glass, and as a happy coincidence it’s the most affordable on the wine list, too. Sarah James
Address: Norma, 8 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, London W1T 2LS
Website: normalondon.com
Jamie Orlando SmithLegare, Bermondsey
Best Italian restaurant for: hearty plates of flavour
Dish to order: Tajarin burro e salviaNot far from favourites 40 Maltby Street and Flour & Grape is Bermondsey's latest addition, Legare, a fun fresh-pasta joint in the shadow of Tower Bridge. The credentials here are impressive – there’s a Trullo alumnus chef and an ex-Barrafina general manager at the helm, and it’s evident that this duo know exactly what they’re doing. The large kitchen opens onto a space that feels intimate yet comfortable, so settle in at a cosy corner table and slurp on fresh pick-of-the-day oysters before diving headfirst into the pillowy parcels of gnocco fritto and folds of fatty mortadella. We’d also suggest you try the stringy stracciatella that comes sprinkled with spicy soppressata, all doused in rich olive oil, and the fresh citrus salad with crispy fennel and zingy mint leaves. The pasta is made fresh on-site so do try a few to sample the various shapes and forms. Al dente ear-shaped orecchiette with crumbled fennel sausage and cavolo nero is topped with crunchy breadcrumbs while the tajarin, a thin ribbon pasta, is doused in creamy butter and punchy sage. Speak to your waiter about choosing a wine to compliment each dish and go with their suggestion – they know their stuff. By Katharine Sohn
Address: Legare, Cardamom Building, 31 Shad Thames, Tower Bridge, London SE1 2YR
Website: legarelondon.com
Maremma, Brixton
Best Italian restaurant for: coastal Tuscan flare
Dish to order: Pappardelle with wild-boar ragùTuscan cooking is well known and loved, but the Maremma coast? Not so much. Food from the area follows a Tuscan theme, yet with its close proximity to the sea a coastal taste gets thrown into the mix. And at the corner of Brockwell Park, occupying a prime corner spot on Brixton Water Lane is Maremma, a through-and-through homage to this lesser-known area of the Silver Coast. Inside, wooden tables, distressed walls, copper pendant lights and an imposing print of a large cinghiale (the wild boar that is a staple in Tuscan cooking) make for a contemporary welcome, and the food doesn’t disappoint. Kick off with some antipasti – bite-sized cuts of salumi e formaggi or a silky tuna tartare with crispy capers – but save room for the primi. Smooth ribbons of pappardelle with meaty wild boar ragù and pillows of tortelli Maremmani doused in sticky butter and sage sauce are the winners. If you’re up for more, the tagliata steak – juicy slices of beef with rocket and Parmesan – is great for sharing. Be sure to try one of the bold wines from the cellar, all almost exclusively from Maremma, to wash everything down. Katharine Sohn
Address: Maremma, 36 Brixton Water Lane, Brixton, London SW2 1PE
Website: maremmarestaurant.com
Trullo, Islington
Best Italian restaurant for: seasonal dishes with Italian flair
Dish to order: pappardelle with beef-shin raguThis always-packed north London restaurant has been a favourite since it was launched in 2010 by Jordan Frieda, ex-River Café, and Tim Siadatan, an original recruit at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen project. There are bentwood chairs, white-linen-covered tables, net curtains, and a menu that changes daily. Choose from antipasti of crispy bruschetta with salty anchovy paste and creamy burrata, and charcoal-grilled dishes of Black Hampshire pork chop and zingy salsa rossa. Don't skip the primi – the pasta dishes are the stars of the show (the pici cacio e pepe never disappoints). Sibling restaurant Padella (regarded as one of the best restaurants in London) might have eclipsed Trullo when it comes to the hype, but this old-school Islington stalwart is still one of the best in town.
Address: Trullo, 300-302 Saint Paul's Road, Highbury East, London N1 2LH
Website: trullorestaurant.com
Bocconcino, Mayfair
Best Italian restaurant for: classic Italian cooking in a grand setting
Dish to order: the daily fresh market fish specialBocconcino serves up hearty, classic Italian food in elegant but pared-back surroundings. Muted neutrals, lofty ceilings, glass walls and copper accents lend all the refinement you’d expect of a Mayfair restaurant, and the menu is generous, too. Antipasti include soft-as-a-cloud burrata with pesto and juicy tomatoes, and slow-cooked, lemony artichokes. Get them to share along with a basket of rosemary flatbread, served hot from the woodfire oven. Then there’s an almost overwhelming choice of pasta, pizza, meat and fish, with daily market specials for the latter. Red gurnard was on offer when we visited, theatrically filleted at the table and served with the freshest homemade tagliatelle and a tomato, black-olive and caper sauce. Wash it all down with whichever Italian wine the sommelier suggests. By Olivia Holborow
Address: Bocconcino, 19 Berkeley Street, Mayfair, London W1J 8ED
Website: bocconcinorestaurant.co.uk
Flour & Grape, Bermondsey
Best Italian restaurant for: simple small plates
Dish to order: lardo bruschettaAlthough it’s tempting to stick to pasta and wine – as the name above the door recommends – you’d be a fool to skip the small plates here. Yes, there are the usual juicy nocellara olives, but the bruschetta comes without a tomato in sight – slathered with warm lardo and topped with walnuts and honey. Roasted pumpkin sits on a bed of creamy ricotta, sprinkled with pomegranate and pumpkin seeds, and smoked eel is served with beetroot and horseradish. The straight-up pasta is made each day in-house. There’s a choice of eight – from spaghetti with roasted almonds and basil to a rich tortelloni stuffed with roasted pork shoulder and doused in sage butter (pictured). You won’t want to skimp on the starters or mains, so our advice is to skip pudding and order an extra plate of pasta (the calamarata with squid, white wine, chilli and pistachio is a standout). Bermondsey Street is now jam-packed with cool places to eat (both José and Pizarro are yards away, as is Casse-Croûte) but this pub-like pasta restaurant more than matches them. Excellent pasta without the queues you’ll find at Padella.
Address: Flour & Grape, 214 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3TQ
Website: flourandgrape.com
Franco's, St James's
Best Italian restaurant for: A blast of southern European sunshine to counter the generally overcast conditions of St James’s
Dish to order: The cannolo with pistachio ice-cream is the best you’ll find this side of SicilyThe fact that a place has been popular for ages is no guarantee of anything; after all, Disneyland has been popular for ages. And so it is with Franco’s, which has occupied this unlikely spot by the corner of Jermyn Street and St James’s Street – behind White’s, basically – since a time when, for most English people, pasta was, as columnist Ian Jack has rather brilliantly put it, ‘a rumour’. Franco’s has undergone several transformations over the years but the fundamentals remain the same for one of the best Italian restaurants in London – impeccable classics delivered con brio. The spaghetti carbonara is not always on the menu, but you can always get it if you ask – and you should.
Address: Franco's, 61 Jermyn Street, London SW1Y 6LX
Website: francosondon.com
Lina Stores, Soho
Best Italian restaurant for: making friends with the chef
Dish to order: pici with Umbrian sausage and porcini mushroomsThe folks at Lina Stores know a thing or two about serving up excellent Italian food. The stalwart deli has been supplying its regulars with handmade pasta and all the trimmings since the 1940s. Now you don’t even have to take it home and cook it. Instead, skip a few streets over to Greek Street and let chef Masha Rener (who came from Italy to head up the Soho restaurant) do it for you. Not that you could ever recreate anything as sensational in your own kitchen; feast on spicy ‘nudja with ricotta, gorgonzola and pear, veal ravioli, pappardelle with rabbit ragu, and amarena cherry tart. Masha’s energy is infectious (ask nicely, and she might even share her recipe for the aubergine polpette).
Address: Lina Stores, 51 Greek Street, London W1D 4EH
Website: linastores.co.uk
Bocca Di Lupo, Soho
Best Italian restaurant for: a date
Dish to order: sea-bream carpaccio with orange and rosemaryIf you can, bag a couple of spots at the marble-topped counter of this smart and shiny hotspot and then eat your way through Italy's most delicious regional dishes. The option of small or large portions means they are made for sharing; kick off with home-cured beef, pecorino and rocket from Tuscany, followed by anchovy-stuffed sage leaves from Rome, Calabrian orecchiette with 'nduja from Calabria and sea bream with zesty gremolata from Puglia. Skip a sit-down dessert and instead pop across the street to Gelupo (the restaurant's gelato shop) for a scoop of the best hazelnut ice cream in all of London and eat it as you wander the thrumming streets of the West End.
Address: Bocca Di Lupo, 12 Archer Street, Soho, London W1D 7BB
Website: boccadilupo.com
Padella, Borough Market and Shoreditch
Best Italian restaurant for: Fresh pasta dishes
Dish to order: cacio e pepeThe queue up Borough High Street each evening suggests that this pasta joint from the people behind Trullo is not aimed purely at locals. Don't let that put you off: tables turn fast and there's space to sit downstairs. And anyway, the pasta is worth the wait. Is there anything better than pasta and cheese? Everyone's going crazy for the pici cacio e pepe: wiggly worms of pure joy swimming in a pool of molten cheese. It's the ultimate comfort food. The small plates of handmade pasta are not easy to share so it makes sense to make the most of the antipasti: a wet and wobbly burrata, broad beans on bruschetta (the black swan of restaurant food), crisp radicchio salad, blood-red beef tartare. There are two tarts for dessert (almond-and-rhubarb or chocolate) - order both. It wouldn't be a proper Italian without Negronis on the menu. Other classics include Americanos and Aperol Spritzes alongside a couple of wines and two London lagers on tap. Heading further east? Padella's second outpost is nestled among the bustling streets of Shoreditch, and makes for the perfect carb-fuelled stop-off between stints of vintage shopping and hopping between the latest funky bar openings. Hazel Lubbock
Address: Padella, 6 Southwark Street, London SE1 1TQ
Website: padella.co
Sorella, Clapham
Best Italian restaurant for: an affordable tasting menu
Dish to order: tagliatelle with pork and 'nduja raguThe latest from The Dairy stable, Sorella is inspired by the time Irish chef Robin Gill spent at two-Michelin-star Don Alfonso 1890 on the Amalfi Coast. Now his food comes with an Italian accent, but fans will recognise his signatures: crispy chicken skins top cheese agnolotti, some of the best desserts in London (including Pump Street chocolate and fennel gelato) are never too sweet, and his love of charcuterie, fermenting, pickling, curing and smoking are present and correct with plates of 20-month-aged prosciutto Marchigiano and black-pepper coppa served with tangy farm pickles. And, of course, there's still the brilliant-value chef's menu for £45, meaning you can rack up the drinks bill from the all-Italian wine list.
Address: Sorella, 148 Clapham Manor Street, London, SW4 6BX
Website: sorellarestaurant.co.ukCiao Bella, Lambs Conduit Street
Best Italian restaurant for: a sing-along with your spaghetti
Dish to order: seafood pasta al cartoccio - opened from a greaseproof parcel at the tableThis classic old-school Italian on Lambs Conduit Street is all about the atmosphere - there's a piano player who sings Rat Pack favourites and guitars hanging on the walls - as well as straight-up food without any unnecessary frills. Ask for a table upstairs rather than downstairs to be in the middle of the action. Or on a balmy summer's evening, sit outside and people-watch on one of London's most charming streets as you feast on Napoletana pizza with salty anchovies and capers, hearty spaghetti with meatballs, and home-made tiramisu - with shots of raspingly sweet limoncello to finish, of course.
Address: Ciao Bella, 86-90 Lamb's Conduit St, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3LZ
Website: ciaobellarestaurant.co.uk
Pastaio, Soho
Best Italian restaurant for: a very affordable Soho supper
Dish to order: crab, chilli, agretti, black & white spaghettiNamed after the Italian word to describe someone who makes pasta by hand, Stevie Parle's Soho spot is the place to come for exactly that. The chef, who is also behind Rotorino in Dalston (above), has simplified things for this central London spot. Plates of pasta, made that day, are served with simple ingredients in a simple setting: canteen-style terrazzo-patterned tables lit with pendant lights. The black-and-white crab spaghetti packs a punch, and the cacio e pepe doesn't disappoint.
Address: Pastaio, 19 Ganton St, Carnaby, London W1F 7BN
Website: pastaio.london
Artusi, Peckham
Best Italian restaurant for: Sunday lunch
Dish to order: pasta of the dayThe day's short menu is scrawled on a chalkboard at this Peckham restaurant hotspot. Ravioli might be stuffed with a sweet-pea puree; tiny shells of orecchiette are teamed simply with broccoli, chilli and buttery Parmesan; pappardelle might come with a thick ragu. But as well as pasta, there's lemon sole, pork belly or a leg of lamb with aubergine and courgette. Puddings include home-made ice cream or almond and olive-oil cake. Go on a Sunday (do book) and you can eat all three courses for just £20.
Address: Artusi, 161 Bellenden Road, Peckham London SE15 4DH
Website: artusi.co.uk
Café Murano, St James
Best Italian restaurant for: a reliable small-chain
Dish to order: saffron-hued risotto Milanese with osso buccoAngela Hartnett's spin-off from her Michelin-starred Murano is the sort of place you wish you had as a local, in a 'Cigarettes and Coffee' kind of way, to scrape a chair at the counter after a hard day and order your usual vermouth or slide into a leather-lined booth for a long supper. The menu is northern Italian and full of strong, earthy flavours and impeccably sourced ingredients: mushroom and lardo bruschetta, spaghettini with squid and mussels, venison saddled with creamy Parmesan polenta. The Covent Garden spot has its own pasta shop next door, but the St James's is the most convivial one to shore up in. Both the truffle arancini and risotto Milanese come highly recommended.
Read about our other favourite restaurants in Covent Garden.
Address: Café Murano, 33 St James Street, St. James, London SW1A 1HD
Website: cafemurano.co.uk
Polpo, Soho
Best Italian restaurant for: Venetian fare
Dish to order: pork-and-fennel meatballsThe original of Russell Norman's Venetian-bacari-inspired restaurants is a great place to grab a bite in Soho. The basement bar feels like a hidden-away secret and was serving tiny tumblers of Campari Spritz long before they swept every hipster bar in the capital. In the buzzing and cosy ground-floor restaurant order a selection of herby meatballs (there's also a veggie option), creamy buffalo-mozzarella pizzette and nicely spiced crab and chilli linguine or a delicious dish of squash, gnocchi, blue cheese and walnuts.
Address: Polpo, 41 Beak Street, Soho, London W1F 9SB
Website: polpo.co.uk
Osteria Tufo, Finsbury Park
Best Italian restaurant for: secret neighbourhood gem
Dish to order: porchetta ricciaGoing for an Italian in Finsbury Park used to mean Pappagone's and a pizza but that changed when couple Paola (from Naples) and Morris (from Milan) opened their black-and-white neighbourhood Italian a short passeggiata from the Tube. Here are lovely home-made pastas, plump burrata, rabbit ragu from an Ischian recipe, thumblets of orecchiette with chilli-flecked broccoli and anchovies, all scoffed with a glass of soft Negroamaro or blossomy Falanghina to hand. Order the porchetta ariccia - salty, crispy layers of pork on well-tanned potatoes, drizzled with honey and orange - or the squid-ink pasta with fresh clams.
Address: Osteria Tufo, 67 Fonthill Road, Finsbury Park, London N4 3HZ
Website: osteriatufo.co.ukFrantoio, Chelsea
Best Italian restaurant for: warm Italian service
Dish to order: vitello alla MilaneseFrantoio is the sort of place where the owner (Bucci) greets you by name even if you've only been here once before - and it was five years ago. And it's this kind of warm service that has turned the restaurant into an old-time neighbourhood establishment and earnt it a reputation for honest, home-cooked food. The menu is no frills and as a result delivers simple yet impeccable classic Italian dishes, made from tangibly fresh and seasonal ingredients. You'd be forgiven for thinking you'd just been hijacked and taken up into the Tuscan hills.
Address: Frantoio, 397 King's Road, Chelsea, London SW10 0LR
Website: frantoio.co.uk