Italian

Russell Norman, the man behind Polpo, is back with this Farringdon restaurants (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 will be very handy if you're looking for a decent bar in the area.

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.

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 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.

This Soho restaurant is a collaboration between Smokestak's David Carter and Chris Leach (with the latter in charge of the menu). There's a nose-to-tail approach to the menu that's also influenced by Italian cooking, particularly on the excellent pasta dishes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 Italian restaurant in Marylebone comes from Kurt Zdesar, the man behind Chotto Matte and Black Roe. There's traditional Italian cooking in a very impressive building, decked out in stained glass windows.

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.

Norma is the first solo restaurant from Ben Tish, previously known as one of the driving culinary forces behind the Salt Yard Group. This is a partnership with the Stafford Hotel (where he also manages the food) and sees him embracing Sicilian cuisine.

Soho House are taking the classic Italian restaurant and going for a more laid-back experience, serving up pizzas and cocktails.

Respected restaurateur and chef Anthony Demetre (of Wild Honey) has brought his vision of a Spanish/Italian vermuteria to the Coal Drops Yard part of King's Cross. As the name suggests, there are plenty of vermouth and negronis on hte drinks list along with a tapas-style menu focusing on seasonal produce.

Another one of Naples' top pizza restaurants has arrived in London. This time it's the turn of iconic pizzeria 50 Kalò di Ciro Salvo, and it's all about the dough...

Popular from the moment it opened, Bancone's main event is its freshly cooked pasta, with the "silk hankerchiefs" being a huge draw.

This Italian restaurant takes its name from one of the most popular Italian pasta dishes - and yes, they can do a mean cacio e pepe (served in a Parmesan basket). Expect homemade pasta, antipasti and wines (it acts as a wine bar too).

This is new restaurant at the Bulgari Hotel (yes, the one that's related to the top end brand) in Knightsbridge. Itt's run by the same group that runs Scarpetta in New York (and a few more restaurants worldwide). Sette is an upscale Italian restaurant, taking in some influences from its American cousins.

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

The original Lina Stores deli was open for 75 years in Soho, giving them plenty of time to get things right before opening this, their first restaurant. Counter dining on the ground floor allows you to see all the action - and the pasta, as you'd expect, is great.

In the heart of Mayfair, high end Bocconcino serves up classic Italian cuisine - everything from homemade pasta and freshly made pizzas baked in the wood-fired pizza oven, to the highest quality seafood.

He may have a three Michelin-starred restaurant in Rome, but chef Heinz Beck's Mayfair restaurant at Brown's Hotel is a slightly more casual affair. An Italian restaurant with British produce supplying the additional wow factor.

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.

Brighton vegan pizza restaurant Purezza has expanded to London, opening its second restaurant in Camden.

Think of this Spitalfields spot as an elevated wine bar, serving not only a cracking list of Italian wines, but a range of traditional Tuscan dishes using top-notch produce. Their slow cooked regional stews are particularly worth seeking out.