Looking into the dining room at Osteria Angelina
This is the second Angelina, yes?
Osteria Angelina is the new restaurant from the team behind much-loved Angelina in Dalston. But, although it comes from the same family, this sparkly new sibling is a very distinct place, sharing DNA with the original but having plenty to set it apart. Both take as their starting point Italian and Japanese food cultures as inspiration. But where Angelina follows a set kaiseki tasting menu format, Osteria Angelina is much more about the a la carte. They say they're embracing the traditions of Northern Italian cooking, which also extends to a less formal restaurant experience.
Where is it?
You'll find it in the Norton Folgate development opposite Shoreditch High Street station, on the intersection of Shoreditch and Spitalfields. It's where Kolamba East and Xi Home Dumplings have already opened. Liverpool Street station is also close by.
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Where should we meet friends for a drink first?
Handily, Osteria Angelina has its own bar, making it a useful place to gather with a cocktail first. Like the food menu it features both Italian and Japanese influences, like the smoked Negroni Barricato with Umeshu, gin, Campari and vermouth which we saw making the rounds a lot. Otherwise, our new favourite place in this part of town for a drink is The Knave of Clubs, which is a five-minute walk away.
Where should we sit?
This is tricky. The seats up at the kitchen counter looked like fun, and they're perfect for two people dining. We also liked the tables along the walls by the window. What we weren't so keen on were the chairs (also mentioned by Grace Dent in her review). They're so deep that a person dining at the table beside us was practically in our laps when she leant back the whole way. We did love the general look and feel of the room, though. The bare bones of these warehouses have been lovingly restored and highlighted making this a very good-looking restaurant.
The kitchen counter at Osteria Angelina
What's on the menu?
The menu here is split into nine distinct sections, starting with pane (bread) and moving up to dolci for desserts. There's a salad section, a crudo and fritti division, along with pasta and larger sharing dishes.
Hokkaido milk bread, kumquat & burnt honey butter (£6) - 100% the right way to start any meal here. But make sure you don't scoff it all on its own as you'll want some to mop up the dressings that come with the next courses.
Kombu cured bream & smoked burnt butter (£12)
Hamachi sashimi, truffle soy & furikake (£16) - our favourite of the two crudos, although they were both very good indeed.
Next came the pasta section. You know a restaurant is taking its pasta offering seriously when there's a pastaio rolling out the pasta in a separate glass-walled kitchen adjoining the dining room, as there is here.
Agnolotti, crab & sausage (£19) - gorgeous al dente pasta with an incredibly moreish filling.
Blythburgh pork chop (£30) - "It's not that big," Angelina co-owner Josh told us before we ordered this beast of a chop. We admit we had to get a doggy bag to take some of this home and were delighted by it the next day.
What's on the menu for those on a plant-forward diet?
The vegetarian options at Osteria Angelina are among the best we've seen recently. Of the 25 key dishes on our menu, 11 were vegetarian or vegan. So there's plenty to choose from, including these two stellar offerings.
Usman’s Magic Tomato Salad (£11) - head chef Usman Haider has added a salsa verde granita on top, which definitely elevates this salad into witchcraft territory. This is a dish that he's been noodling around with for years and when a customer called it 'magic' the title stuck.
Tortellini with truffle & kombu (£15) - one of those dishes that really illustrates the dual culinary inspiration behind Osteria Angelina.
Room for dessert?
By this point, we honestly didn't have room, but nevertheless managed to squeeze in the following. The next time we go back, we'll want to have a go at the Genmaicha purin (a Japanese custard pudding) with kinako.
Brulee black sesame cheesecake & milk gelato (£9) - a really interesting, intense take on the Basque cheesecake that everyone's going crazy for at the moment.
Anything else worth noting?
We gave the menu a good going over, but one section we didn't get around to trying was the fritti. That contains their Courgette flower & miso ricotta, a variation on the dish that won the 2023 Best of Taste of London competition that we judged.
What about the wine list?
The list here is exclusively Italian. They say, "Our mission is to unveil hidden gems". We enjoyed a glass of their own label Durello spumante from Veneto (£15) along with a really good high-altitude Sicilian white from Tenuta Enza La Fauci.
Overall thoughts:
Just a few weeks post-opening and Osteria Angelina was absolutely packing them in on a Thursday night. They clearly don't need us to tell you to go, but we're going to anyway. Co-owners Joshua, Amar and Laura have created precisely the kind of restaurant that Londoners want right now. There's a menu which demands you either go big on your selection or return again and again to work your way through it. Add to that the palpable buzz of a restaurant with its finger on the city's pulse and you have plenty of reasons to book your table right now.
More about Osteria Angelina
Where is it? 1 Nicholl's Clarke Yard, off Blossom Street, London E1 6SH
How to book? Book online.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @angelina.london
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Osteria Angelina. Prices correct at time of publication.
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