The best Italian restaurants in London

Manteca
Shoreditch
Manteca ticks all the on-trend boxes – small plates, nose-to-tail eating, fresh pasta and in-house salumi – but does it all very, very well. It’s an absolute riot of flavours directed through the inimitable lens of Italian cooking (although they’re not afraid to break from tradition). The amari-led cocktail list will blow you away, too.

Sale e Pepe
Knightsbridge

This fun and old-school venue is situated stone’s throw from Hyde Park, and has been serving up top quality Italian dishes since 1974. The dining room has recently enjoyed a revamp, but menu classics of veal milanese, spaghetti alla vongole and tiramisu remain. The red prawn starter is a real highlight, and don’t neglect to try the focaccia, which comes with delicious oil and balsamic for dipping. Risotto and pastas are served in generous portions, all served by waiters with a twinkle in the eye.

Trullo
Highbury
A sophisticated sanctuary by the busy Highbury & Islington junction in North London, Trullo sings with the simple indulgence of good Italian cooking. Headed up by Chef Owner, Conor Gadd, seasonality and high-quality produce are at the heart of the daily changing menu. Fresh hand-made pasta is a stalwart, with cacio e pepe and similar classics a regular. The antipasti has a flair of creativity, such as pig’s ear fritti, and the meat and fish mains are all cooked on a charcoal grill. It’s a warm, buzzy neighbourhood restaurant with levelled up elegance.

Luci
Covent Garden
A cosy trattoria this is not: Luci is BIG, with an 18m-counter bakery on the ground floor selling pastries, sweet treats, savoury ‘al forno’ dishes and pizza by the slice. Upstairs is a large restaurant – a little cavernous when quiet; buzzy but not too noisy when full. Campari cocktails are a speciality of the house: six to choose from, at a reasonable £6.50 each. Highlights are the smaller bites to pique the appetite: truffled arancini, cured meats, focaccia, burrata pugliese, crispy artichoke hearts and side-dish zucchini fritti with mint. Notable mains include: tagliatelle ragu, the blistered crisp-based pizzas and spanking-fresh sea bass cooked in a parcel with celeriac, fennel and lemon. Finish with an affogato and you’ll leave happy. Service was a little chaotic when we first went to Luci but that had settled down by visit two. Look out for the two-course pre-theatre menu and the Aperitivo menu.

Theo Randall at the InterContinental
Mayfair
Theo was head chef of the famed River Cafe for 15 years, which says all you need to know about his cooking creds and ethos: unfussy dishes, rustic in style, allowing the flavours of the (impeccably sourced) ingredients to shine. The restaurant itself is slightly big-hotel soulless, but the food and service more than make up for that. Come hungry because portions are generous. Highlights include the tomato focaccia; pasta (all homemade); cured beef carpaccio with rocket and parmesan; porchetta; and Theo’s signature dish of guinea fowl stuffed with Parma ham, mascarpone and thyme. Save room for afters because the Amalfi lemon tart – deep and zingy of filling – is a pudding to remember. Look out for the Saturday brunches (three-course lunches really), which are great value as the price includes a piled-high come-and-come-again buffet to start, mains and puddings, plus bottomless signature cocktails or wine/prosecco.

Bocca di Lupo
Soho
Under the skilful eye of chef-patron Jacob Kenedy, Bocca di Lupo has been a haven of outstanding Italian food in Soho for 15 years. Relaxed yet cut-above special, the trattoria turns out dish after dish of the finest Italian regional cooking without pretension – every ingredient is treated with respect. Highlight dishes include: stuffed courgette flowers (when in season); sardines with sweet-sharp Sicilian flavours; spaghetti with crab; pappardelle with venison ragu; bream in a ‘sarcophagus of salt’; and what we reckon is the best gelato you’ll taste in London – enjoy it at Bocca or stumble across the road to sister establishment Gelupo. For the best experience, book a (comfortable) high seat at the open kitchen near the end next to the pass for a masterclass in communication and cooking so smooth it seems choreographed. Excellent value lunch and pre-theatre menus.

Paper Moon
Whitehall
If you’ve been checking out the royal horse guards, head around the corner to Paper Moon for a posh Italian lunch. Watch the world go by from the swanky interior and enjoy Milanese dishes including osso buco with saffron risotto, veal chops or taglioni with langoustine and zucchini flowers. Save room for the tiramisu and panna cotta, too. Ideal for business lunches or family gatherings in the beautiful courtyard.

Murano
Mayfair
The new lunch menu at Angela Hartnett’s Murano makes dining at a Michelin star Mayfair Italian an affordable two figure affair for two courses. Expect starters of ox tongue with salsa verde or homemade garganelli with white pork ragù and anchovies followed by hake with lentils or roast chicken. Desserts might include yogurt parfait, chocolate tart or a custard tart with the most alluring of wobbles.

Tiella at the Compton Arms
Highbury
Tiella from chef Dara Klein (previously of Sager + Wilde and Brawn) is full of simple classics that make you want to squeal with glee. Expect mains such as a fried skate wing, homemade tortellini in brodo and seasonal salads served at precisely the perfect temperature. Dara’s Italian heritage shines through in her intuitive cooking: she knows it’s the small details that really count. The restaurant is a great example of why Italian food is so well-suited to a pub setting while the menu is convivial, hearty and most importantly, incredibly delicious.

Ombra
Bethnal Green

A stone’s throw from the A107, this unassuming trattoria has been offering silky homemade pasta, and plates of beautifully prepared meat, fish and vegetables since 2011. Ordering their gnocchi fritto with mortadella is a must and you’ll find a fantastic wine list to pair with your plates. Tasting menus are great value at £65, but if you can’t secure a table, pay their bakery Forno over the road a visit for a slice of pizza or a maritozzi.

Cafe Murano
Bermondsey, Covent Garden, St James
When Italian classics are what you seek, Cafe Murano does not disappoint. From rigatoni with spicy sausage ragù to their classic chicken milanese with rocket and parmesan, the menu here is full of dishes you’ll want to eat – the hardest part is having to choose. Whether it’s a speedy or long leisurely lunch you’re after, the excellent service and relaxed atmosphere will provide.

Azzurra
Sloane Square
Come for the crudo, stay for the showstopping pizza. Azzurra brings British seafood and Italian cooking to the table. And it does so very well indeed. Expect a buzzing atmosphere, stunning cocktails and striking nautical interiors. Highlights: delicate crudo (red snapper with pear and Calabrian chilli, salmon with ginger and white sesame), pillowy spinach gnudi and crisp-based pizzas (lobster medallions, bottarga and dill). Beyond that, there are irresistible pasta dishes with lesser known shapes (lorighittas) and a table-side tiramisu of dreams. It’s swanky, but soon to launch a more casual family-style brunch menu.

Luca
Clerkenwell
Whether you’re dining on the walled garden terrace or in one of the nooks of the cosy dining room, Luca is as charming as restaurants come. It’s at the higher end when it comes to the bill, but the tasting menu is a good way to try multiple dishes boasting the very best of seasonal ingredients. There is a set lunch that’s more affordable for three courses. Whichever menu you opt for, you’ll soon see there’s a reason this place has scooped up a Michelin star, with dishes like a tagliatelle with rabbit, green olives, preserved lemon and lardo di colonnata or deer with delica pumpkin, chestnut, porcini and green peppercorns.

Norma
Fitzrovia
At this Italian restaurant on Charlotte Street, the menu has strong Sicilian and Moorish influences, with lots of seafood, pasta, and dried-fruit enriched sugos on offer. Slow cooked ragùs are flavoured with seasonal citrus, roasted fish is served with saffron pangrattato, and vegetarians are brilliantly well catered for by the restaurant’s namesake dishes: pasta alla norma and norma aubergine parmigiana. Neither lets the side down if you are a fan of both legendary dishes.

Mortimer House Kitchen
Fitzrovia
Tom Cenci of Nessa is at the helm in the newly revamped Mortimer House Kitchen. From the rosemary focaccia with smoked whipped ricotta starter through to the perfectly crisp cannoli, the kitchen is doing rustic Italian fare right. Expect homemade pastas, such as a vegan wild mushroom and hazelnut number, or a calamarata with prawns, tomato, chilli. Mains include the one they are becoming well known for: the Italian-American inspired chicken parmigiana (also available as an aubergine option). There’s also cod and agretti stew, lamb rump, or sirloin served with onions and focaccia.