Italian

• La Mia Mamma brings its mammas to Battersea

  

  They already have restaurants in Chelsea and Notting Hill (not to mention seafood spin-off Fish & Bubbles) and now La Mia Mamma has just opened its latest restaurant in Battersea.

  If you're not familiar, the idea behind the restaurants is that there are "real Italian mothers" in the kitchens, looking after the punters. The "mammas" have never worked in professional kitchens before, but they

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• Barbarella is going to be Big Mamma's sexy new Canary Wharf restaurant

  

  26/5/25 - updated with the opening date

  Almost a year ago we brought you the news that the Big Mamma group (Circolo Popolare, Gloria, Carlotta et al) were setting their sights on Canary Wharf. Now we've got the scoop on exactly what they have planned for their restaurant there.

  Barbarella is going to be a retro-inspired self-styled "wild and jungle-themed city pad". It's taken

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• Theo James joins Carousel co-founder Ed Templeton in opening Lupa restaurant in Highbury

  

  As Highbury locals ourselves, you'll have to forgive us for focusing more on the fact that actor Theo James is also apparently our neighbour, than the news that he's opening a restaurant here. But if we stop wondering why we've never seen the White Lotus star out and about in N5 and look instead at what he's actually involved in, then Lupa does sound rather interesting.

  First off, Theo's got himself a solid

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• Lina Stores pick Canary Wharf for their tenth restaurant

  

  18/5/25 - updated with the opening date

  After decades spent as a standalone store in Soho selling fresh pasta and Parma ham to Londoners, it's fair to say that Lina Stores is now a fully-fledged chain. They're currently working on their tenth opening, this time in Canary Wharf. This will be their third City space, following hard on the heels of a Broadgate branch which opened

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• Test Driving Duchy, taking the Leroy space in a great new French/Italian direction

  

  Two people who used to work at Leroy have taken over their former workplace and relaunched it as a new restaurant, inspired by the French/Italian Duchy of Savoy. We went down to see just how much has changed.

• Richard Caring is bringing a Harry's to King's Cross

  

  If you're a King's Cross resident, worker or commuter, you may have been wondering what was going to replace the old Vinoteca right outside the station. We can now enlighten you - it's going to be a Harry's. The Italian restaurant group is currently part of millionaire restaurateur Richard Caring's empire, along with the Ivy cafes and neighbouring King's Cross venture Granary Square Brasserie (although it's part of a

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• The best pizzas and pizzerias in London

  

  London remains the place to be in the UK for this country's and indeed Europe's (outside of Italy, of course) best pizzas. From traditional Neapolitan to crispy new Haven-style pizzas as well as the recent trend for deep dishes, here's where to find London's best.

• Osteria Angelina sees the Dalston restaurant opening a grill and pasta restaurant in the City

  

  21/4/25 - updated with the opening date

  Angelina has been a big success in Dalston and while their other restaurant Dai Chi didn't last the distance in Soho, they're sticking to what they do best in the City by opening a second Angelina.

  Called Osteria Angelina, it'll be opening in the Nolton Folgate development by Shoreditch station that's seen ...

• Test Driving 27 Old Compton Street - the late night pasta bar that's exactly what Soho needs right now

  

  Amidst a sea of luxury openings comes a well-priced Soho spot that wants to make sitting down for a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine an easy, fun thing to do. We find that 27 Old Compton Street is very much to our taste. 

• Naples meets London as 081 Pizzeria take their popular pizzas to Shoreditch

  

  They're currently No 43 on the Best Pizzas in Europe list (excluding Italy), and now Peckham's 081 are expanding. They're about to open their second pizzeria, this time in Shoreditch. Taking over the old Iron Bloom spot on Eastern Street will give them a bigger, more central restaurant.

  If you haven't been down to Peckham to try them yet, then here's some intel about them. The man behind 081 is Andrea Ascuiti. He was born in Naples (so he

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• Manteca

  Nose-to-tail cooking meets Italian fare at Manteca in Shoreditch

• Giorgio Locatelli is opening Locatelli at The National Gallery

  

  It pays to keep an eye on Giorgio Locatelli because a lot of what the chef does that's considered breaking news is something he's already flagged up months before. Just as he talked about closing Locanda Locatelli in articles months before it 'suddenly' closed, the chef has been chatting

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• Officina 00's next pasta restaurant is in Covent Garden

  

  5/3/25- updated with opening date

  One of London's best pasta restaurants is gearing up for a new opening. They already have popular restaurants on Old Street and in Fitzrovia, and now Officina 00 are going even more central for their next

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• 27 Old Compton Street is aiming to be Soho's hot new pasta bar

  

  He already has two more Italian restaurants in Soho named after the street they're in, so when restaurateur Nima Safaei came around to giving his latest opening a moniker he stayed true to form, naming it after its address on Compton Street. But while this new restaurant may share a naming convention with its sibling restaurants, it's going to be quite a different beast.

  The new spot is focusing on quick pasta - think of

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• Trullo is popping up with a three-month residency at Harvey Nichols

  

  Up until now, there's only been one Trullo, one of Islington's best restaurants, leaving aside its sibling restaurant Padella, of course. But now, at least for a short while, a second Trullo outpost is coming to Knightsbridge.

  The restaurant is kicking off a three-month

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