Italian

Russell Norman, the man behind Polpo, is behind this restaurant just off Smithfield market (where Hix used to be). It takes its influences primarily from Northern Italy with a particular focus on Florence. So you'll find Italian snacks and pasta alongside huge T-Bone steaks. It's also part-bar, with an extensive list of cocktail classics, so very handy if you're looking for a decent bar in the area.

Macellaio RC have a few sites across London where the main event is the steak, and you'll see plenty of this hanging in the restaurant. It's all Italian-style steak from a female Fassona breed. There is some pasta available too - but you'll really need to be trying as much from the grill as possible to do the place justice.

This Clerkenwell restaurant is from the team behind Michelin-starred and World's 50 Best restaurant The Clove Club. An Italian restaurant using British produce it's split between a more casual cafe at the front and more formal dining in the restaurant at the back.

This restaurant brings fresh pasta to Islington from chef Louis Korovilas (who created the original menu at Bancone). Expect pasta dishes that evolve with the season alongside plenty of fritti action (including fritto misto, of course).

Francesco Mazzei is chef patron of Sartoria restaurant on Savile Row in Mayfair, serving dishes from his native Calabria as well as other regions in Italy. They go big on truffles here and the sommelier is a London gem.

This longstanding neighbourhood gem of an Italian has been packing Notting Hill's denizens into its light-filled dining room - above the ground floor pizzeria - for over 20 years. They source the best Italian ingredients possible for a classic Italian menu that's inspired by the chef's Sardinian childhood.

There are a few Cafe Muranos across town - but this is the main Michelin-starred flagship restaurant of Angela Hartnett. It's high-end Italian dining but with a relaxed vibe.

This is a combined wine bar, trattoria and deli in Marylebone. It comes from chef Maurizio Morelli, also behind Latium in Fitzrovia. Expect a traditional Italian menu throughout, and you should pay particular attention to their bread - bricole does mean breadcrumbs, after all.

Probably Islington's most famous restaurant, this Italian affair sees Jordan Frieda, formerly front-of-house at The River Cafe teaming up with chef Tim Siadatan (the same team behind Padella). Expect superlative Italian cuisine and if you're passing by, it's well worth a look in their next-door deli too.

Giorgio Locatelli's Marylebone restaurant is still one of the best and most highly rated Italian restaurants in town. It's very much a high-end special occasion type of place (but if you can afford to eat here regularly - go for it). Old school Italian dining done to perfection.

The original Padella is a London sensation, with its affordable fresh pasta winning friends far and wild. It's hugely popular, which led to this second outpost in Shoreditch. Expect the same great value, high quality pasta and more.

The Big Mamma group in Paris have had huge hits with their trattorias and Gloria was their first London opening, in a big space in Shoreditch. It serves up Italian food in a classic looking space (as well as a hidden 80s-set dining room) and a buzzy vibe.

Pastaio is Italian for someone who makes pasta by hand - something you'll see plenty of in this venture by Stevie Parle (Dock Kitchen, Rotorino, Palatino, Craft) in Soho. Fast, casual and good value - particularly for this area - the pasta is super and the Prosecco slushies a must.

This Italian restaurant is from chef Jonathan Lawson, who worked with Theo Randall for five years before opening his own place, with cuisine described as Italian with a touch of Moorish and Spanish.

This North Italian restaurant was a bit of a sleeper hit at first until word got out about how great the food was. Descend to the basement restaurant for dishes like pappardelle with slow-cooked hare or hand-chopped raw veal with Parmesan as well as a 10 seater bar specialising in Vermouth.

Bancone's main event is its freshly cooked pasta and as it's also a great place for counter dining (bancone translated means "counter"). The "silk hankerchiefs" being a huge draw but expect the menu to change with the seasons.

This high-end Italian restaurant in Covent Garden has a strong focus on service and it's one of the smartest Italian restaurants in the area.

The Temper restaurant in Covent Garden is where cooking over fire is a big thing and you can get some of the best tacos, steak and meats in town.

This is the Covent Garden outpost of Angela Hertnett's Cafe Murano restaurant group. Expect an Italian menu with a focus on fresh pasta. And if you just fancy a drink, there's a cafe/wine bar/shop next door where you can also buy fresh pasta to take home.

Ave Mario is from the people behind Gloria and Circolo Poplare, and once again it's another hit for them. Expect no holds barred on the design and BIG food, like the enormous ice cream cake that they wheel about the room. Specialities here include a caviar section, massive cocktails and a veal milanese that's twice as big as your head. 

The original Cin Cin in Brighton started life as a van before becoming a big hit as a restaurant (also winning a Michelin Bib Gourmand). This is their second restaurant and the first time they've opened in London. Expect classic, seasonal Italian fare alongside "good old-fashioned Italian hospitality."

While the original Pophams is mainly a bakery and cafe, this, their second, also functions as a restaurant. So while you can still buy their bread and pastries here, there's the added draw of the pasta restaurant, with all the pasta made fresh in-house. It should go without saying that the desserts are pretty great as well.

Campania & Jones serves up Southern Italian food in Hackney, with pasta made fresh daily in its beautiful rustic-looking restaurant. The food is authentic Italian, the portions are generous and it's one of the most popular restaurant near Columbia Road. There's a daily changing menu, so you can always find something new to try.

The idea of opening a massive new palace of Italian food by Liverpool Street station originally seemed faintly ridiculous. Eataly proved them quite wrong - the place has done a storming business ever since it threw open its doors. Go to marvel at the huge grocery section, and then recover with a glass of Chianti and bowl of pasta in one of its many restaurants.

Originally big in Soho and now David Carter (Smokestak) and Chris Leach's Manteca moved to Shoreditch. Designed around an open kitchen with plenty of open-fire cooking. The food is described as a nose-to-tail "Italian with a British accent" with both seasonality and a whole-animal approach to cooking the name of the day (alongside some great pasta).

Franzina Trattoria began its life in a shipping container in Pop Brixton. This husband and wife team then found themselves a permanent spot a mere stone’s throw away from their original home. Passionate about food from their hometown Palermo, this restaurant takes you through Sicily’s culinary traditional dishes and more - try their panelle, arancini and sfincione. Finish with cannoli or their Sicilian doughnuts with cinnamon, fresh ricotta cream and chocolate.

The Big Mamma Group's second opening in London saw them hit up Fitzrovia with a massively OTT slice of Mediterranean charm and flavour. It's extremely popular with a stunning looking room.

Upstairs is a private members club, but Mortimer House Kitchen on the ground floor of this art-deo building and open to the public. It features a menu that's serving up Middle Eastern/Italian-influenced dishes. They describe their dishes as "like a dialogue between an Italian and an Israeli."

Named after the lesser known coastal area of Tuscany, a wife and husband duo opened this rustic Italian neighbourhood restaurant in 2019. Its interior is light and stylish and the place focuses on simple and seasonal regional specialities with fresh pasta and gnocchi made daily and meat and fish cooked on a charcoal grill. The wine lists boasts many that have not been represented in the UK before.

This Dalston restaurant has a modern take on Japanese and Italian food - resulting in a creative fusion menu that's inspired by both cuisines, while also pushing the envelope. There are omakase tasting menus alongside a la carte, and it also sports a tiny Tokyo-style cocktail bar.