There’s no need to pack your bags and head to the airport for delicious Italian food. London is home to some of the best Italian restaurants in the world.
From Tuscany to Sicily and beyond, including homemade pastas, traditional Neapolitan pizzas and exquisite Sicilian dessert, we’re taking you on a culinary journey through Italy. These are some of our favourite Italian restaurants in London to indulge in this World Pasta Day (25 October) and throughout truffle season this autumn. All fatto in casa. Buon appetito!
40 Dean Street, Soho
40 Dean Street is the kind of place that you’ll want to visit time and time again. Housed at its namesake address, 40 Dean Street, Soho, the restaurant has a lovely bustle to it every night of the week: not just thanks to the passing foot traffic, but due to the restaurant’s – and founder and executive chef Nima Safaei’s – legacy in London’s food scene. From the blue awning and marron-slash-burgundy exterior to the moment you step inside, an affable charm runs off the ceramic-decorated walls to the tables and the gold-painted bar. This energy also seeps into the menus, where you’ll find all the Italian crowd pleasers taken just that extra mile further with rich flavour palettes, without ever being too fussy. With attention to detail throughout, Nima Safaei and his team carefully select the ingredients from local suppliers including a deli on Old Compton Street and fresh bread from local bakeries, with dishes often changing throughout the year to champion seasonal produce. Once one of London’s best-kept secrets, 40 Dean Street is a special spot that deserves to be shared if you’re ever on the hunt for really good Italian fare.
Luca, Clerkenwell
While Michelin-starred (which shines clearly in the quality of each dish) this cosy spot retains all its amiable warmth of being one of London’s most-loved Italian spots. If you’re here for World Pasta Day, try the rigatoni with pork sausage ragù for a hearty way to celebrate. Otherwise, we can forgive you being indecisive while pouring over the seasonally-changing menu, but not to fret, the Chef’s Tasting Menu, a six-course journey through the dishes starting with parmesan fries and ending with a perfectly-whipped tiramisu, is a great solution. The covered terrace is an excellent spot for hunkering down next to the fire with a glass of wine come winter.
Lavo, Marylebone
Head to London’s stylish The BoTree hotel for a flavour of the Italian coastline at Lavo, where black truffle and butter fettuccine rub shoulders on the menu with lobster linguine and wild boar white bolognese. For an extra lavish affair, enjoy the newly launched unlimited brunch, available at the weekends, where you can dine on antipasti, lobster and more, as much as you wish, or head over one evening for a romantic date night spot, ending the night with Lavo’s signature 20-layer cake. A meal at Lavo is nothing if not decadent in all the very best Italian ways.
The Italian Greyhound, Marylebone
You can rely on Marylebone to have great neighbourhood dining spots. And The Italian Greyhound is just that. An Italian restaurant at heart with a casual bar-like flare, this corner spot is flooded with light and has a warm, relaxed ambience – perfect for leisurely dining. On the menu, Italian classics (lots of handmade pastas) are revisited by head chef Rob Carmo, including a cacio e pepe ravioli with black truffle, and burrata served with charred pear and chicory.
Jacuzzi, Kensington High Street
The fourth (now followed by two more to make six spots in London) launch from Italian restaurant group, Big Mamma opened in January 2023 and has lived up to expectations. Described as a “villa of worldly pleasures” this restaurant is bringing lesser-known traditional ingredients such as white sturgeon caviar from Veneto and culatello (cured ham made from a pig’s hind legs) to the London dining scene. Served in an enchanting setting inspired by decadent Roman villas and spread across four floors, this trattoria in West London is a treat not only for the tastebuds but for the eyes, nose and ears, too.
Norma, Fitzrovia
There’s no better way to get to know a region than through its food, and Norma London is a culinary trip through the thrilling history of Sicily. This vibrant restaurant in Fitzrovia serves dishes inspired by Sicily’s Moorish roots such as chickpeas pannelle and beef tartare with gorgonzola, and pickled mustard. We also love the iconic pasta alla norma with an eggplant sauce, from which the restaurant takes its name.
Franco's, St James's
Franco’s is somewhat of a stalwart in London, having opened in 1945 and remained serving traditional Italian plates ever since. You get the full old-school treatment here, from white clothed tables and suited waiters to mushroom soup and rabbit with polenta. Swing by for the black fusilli served with prawns and courgette and a taste of London and Italy back in the twentieth century.
Bardo St. James, Trafalgar Square
Exquisite traditional cuisine and a lavish atmosphere awaits you at Bardo St. James in Trafalgar Square. The delicious dishes you’ll find on the menu will take you on a tour of different Italian regions, from the Roman pinzas (a form of flatbread), to the Sicilian red prawn carpaccio or the typical Milanese breaded veal cutlet. The elegant yet intimate decor of the restaurant, coupled with their live music, completes this unforgettable culinary experience.
Lina Stores, Soho
Lina Stores started 80 years ago as a small neighbourhood deli in Soho founded by an Italian immigrant from Genoa. Today, they’re a legacy institution with multiple locations across London, serving fresh homemade delicacies. Each restaurant offers a unique experience ranging from their small and cosy pasta restaurant on Greek Street to the impressive Bloomberg Arcade restaurant and bar in the City. But each keeps the traditional quality of its products alive, alongside the conviviality with which they are served.
Officina 00, Old Street
Founded by Elia Sebregondi and Enzo Mirto, this is the ultimate experience for pasta lovers. Officina 00 offers two restaurant locations with seasonal menus, both exploring traditional Italian flavours with a modern twist. To take the experience further, they offer authentic pasta-making workshops. From the in-house experience to your own home, this is an Italian culinary journey to remember.
Noci, Multiple Locations
Noci is a fun Italian spot founded by Andy Bassadone with four outposts (Islington, Battersea, Richmond, Shoreditch) across the city. Noci may mean ‘walnut’ in Italian, but it’s the fresh, in-house made pasta dishes – in varying shapes of pasta you’ve probably not heard of outside of Italy – you’ll want to flock here for, from creamed courgette strozzapreti to the tomato amatriciana. For World Pasta Day this Saturday, Noci will offer their signature brown butter cacio e pepe for just 1p to the first (very lucky) 300 customers.
If you fancy pizza…
50 Kalò, Westminster
True Neapolitan pizza is not always easy to find in the capital, but head to Charing Cross for not only one of the best Italian restaurants in London, but in the world. 50 Kalò opened its second location in London after the original (in Naples) became a true sensation. One of the secrets to its success is their specific recipe by Chef Ciro Salvo, designed to create hyper-hydrated dough that’s lighter on the stomach but keeps all the flavour. The menu also features typical Neapolitan street food for the antipasto, and original desserts such as pistachio tiramisu. It really doesn’t get much better – or authentic – than this.
Lead image credit: Carlotta Antipasti Spread by Sam Harris
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