As simple as Italian ingredients are, their dishes and restaurants can be pretty damn swanky! After all, we all have our preferred recipe for good old pasta. And don’t we look forward to the cheesiest pizza on our cheat days? Whatever your tastes, there’s a chef nearby waiting to mesmerise you with their distinct culinary talents. From award-winning menus offering fresh seasonal produce and the best ingredients, to Michelin-starred spots which often top ‘best of’ lists around the globe.
How we handpick the best Italian restaurants in London
Each restaurant on this list has been carefully chosen by a member of our team. Our editors and the Secret London team rely on personal experiences, recommendations, editorial reviews, customer feedback, and thorough research to bring you the finest dining spots in the city. We are constantly on the lookout for new places with delicious food and excellent service. This list is regularly updated as we discover new openings and revisit established favourites.
No matter where you are in the British capital, if you have the taste buds for Italian food, here’s a roundup of the best Italian restaurants in London:
1. Luca, Farringdon
Another Italian restaurant in London that has received recognition in the Michelin Guide, Luca offers a lively atmosphere and classic Italian cuisine with quality British ingredients. Moreover, they offer a seasonal menu and some banging pasta dishes too.
There’s more than enough here to keep you happy, but we’d personally recommend their parmesan fries, and their scallops and Scottish halibut with spring minestrone. If you are up for something a bit different, go for their ‘prix fixe’ menu, where the chef sends something from the menu without letting you know!
📍You’ll find Luca at 88 St John Street, London EC1M 4EH.
🚇 Nearest station is Farringdon.
2. Trullo, Highbury and Islington
This celebrated spot is another restaurant that focuses on the best seasonal produce, specifically from British farmers using fresh produce. Trullo promises a new menu daily, and they hand-make their pasta for each and every order, and use a charcoal grill to cook their fish and meat.
If you happen to go at a time when ‘pappardelle with beef shin ragu’, ‘ming tang-evans’, or baby lettuce salad is being served, then order them all right away!
📍You’ll find Trullo at 300-302 St Paul’s Road, Highbury East, London, N1 2LH.
🚇 Nearest station is Highbury and Islington.
3. Padella, Borough
Padella is most definitely one of the best Italian restaurants in London and its without all the faff – just good simple fresh Italian pasta. However, the queue up at Borough High Street each evening is something you have to come to terms. Only the best most tasty cacio o pepe and the pappardelle with slow-cooked beef-shin ragù. Go for the anti-pasti as well and try the burrata, broad beans on bruschetta and the radicchio salad as the handmade pasta dishes are for one person only and they’re delicious so you wouldn’t want to share!
📍You’ll find Padella at 6 Southwark St, London SE1 1TQ
🚇 Nearest station is London Bridge.
4. Manteca, Shoreditch
After moving around in London for a little while, Manteca finally found its place in East. With an absolutely stunning menu to choose from the must-orders are the spicy ‘nduja steamed mussels, brown crab cacio e pepe, house-made ricotta with courgette and chilli. In terms of lovely hand-made pasta, you must try the lumache with kale and chilli and the wild garlic chitarra, parmesan and egg yolk – a guaranteed explosion of flavours that’s going to want you coming back for more.
📍You’ll find Manteca at 49-51 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3PT.
🚇 Nearest station is Shoreditch High Street.
5. The Italian Greyhound, Marylebone
Whether you’re visiting during the day and making the most of the sun pouring through the elegant French windows, or enjoying a cosier, dimly lit evening meal, everything about this neighbourhood restaurant emanates the inviting, all-day dining atmosphere of an Italian taverna.
The seasonal menu offers a carefully curated selection of pizza, fresh pasta, and mouthwatering meat and fish dishes – but to start, a smoky clementine mezcal margarita with a citrus-y starter (e.g. grilled squid skewers with ‘nduja and lemon, or burrata and blood orange) is our favourite combination. We’d recommend sharing a couple of mains from each section of the menu, as they all bring something different to the table (quite literally!), and be sure not to miss out on the pistachio tiramisu. You can also enjoy succulent roast porchetta or rib of beef tagliata for two, alongside the a la carte menu if you’re visiting for Sunday lunch.
📍 You’ll find The Italian Greyhound at 62 Seymour Street, W1H 5BN
🚇 Nearest Station is Marble Arch
6. Flour and Grape, Bermondsey
There’s nothing like good affordable pasta and Flour and Grape is definitely good for that. Aside of the queues that seem to be the trend for attaining good Italian food, they have an excellent set of starters and mains for you to dive into. From the bruschetta to the creamy ricotta – definitely indulge before you settle for your mains. For mains you have a lovely choice between eight dishes, we highly recommend the tortelloni with roasted pork shoulder and sage butter, linguine with monkfish, tomato, garlic and chilli, or the pappardelle with beef short-rib ragu.
📍You’ll find Flour and Grape at 214 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3TQ.
🚇 Nearest station is London Bridge.
7. Lina Stores, Soho
Lina Stores is definitely is one of the Secret London teams’ favourites. Named for the formidable Italian woman ‘Lina’ who opened it in 1944, Lina Stores quickly became the spot for finding the best Italian produce in the capital, and after over 75 years of perfecting their authentic pasta recipe, the store branched out in a restaurant on Greek Street.
Now with five restaurants on their roster – including their latest in fashionable Marylebone – you can expect to indulge in some of the most delectable pasta dishes in town.
Winning dishes include ‘tagliolini al tartufo’ – a heavenly mix of 30-egg yolk tagliolini, black truffle, creamy butter and rich parmigiano reggiano – and the ‘crudo di orata’ – a melt-in-the-mouth sea bream crudo dusted with basil and pine nuts.
📍You’ll find Lina Stores at various different locations in London. You can find out more here
8. Bancone, Charing Cross
If you follow some well-known food critics in the city, you will have heard of Bancone. It is known considered one of the best Italian restaurants in London, having won over many rather strict food critics in the past. The menu showcases dishes from almost every region of Italy, and as a result, received the esteemed Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2022.
They carefully make their pasta fresh here every day, and this is one of the main reasons they bring in such a regular crowd of returning visitors. Heading there already? Make sure you try their ‘silk handkerchief pasta’ with tasty confit egg yolk and walnut butter or the burrata served in basil oil and topped off with heritage tomatoes.
📍You’ll find Bancone at 39 William IV Street, London, WC2N 4DD and at 8-10 Lower James Street, London, W1F 9EL.
🚇 Nearest stations are Charing Cross and Piccadilly Circus.
9. Artusi, Peckham
Artusi is a Peckham-based spot that whips up classic, traditional dishes with a tasty twist. Designed in the vein of a simple neighbourhood restaurant, they scribble their daily menu on the chalkboard outside, and were recently given a Michelin-star.
If you are a Londoner, you might already know about their amazing seasonal menu that changes frequently. But if not, get yourself south of the river and head to Peckham to try their delectable dishes like ox tongue pastrami and mouthwatering beef rump.
📍You’ll find Artusi at 161 Bellenden Road Peckham, London SE15 4DH.
🚇 Nearest station is Peckham Rye.
10. The River Café, Hammersmith
This brilliant Italian restaurant in London has been wooing food-lovers for over three decades. The River Café serves seasonal spring, summer, autumn and winter menus. However, this dream of Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray has always had one particularly delectable dessert served throughout the year – the ‘chocolate nemesis dolci’ – a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake served with creme fraîche.
Another Italian joint that’s earned itself a Michelin Star, they only allow up to eight people at a time to wine and dine here and are open for lunch and dinner every day of the week. While they’re not exactly cheap, they do justice to every dish served, and stick to seasonal vegetables. Don’t miss the gorgeous seafood risotto served with clams, zucchini flowers, and winter-specific greens during the Winter months.
📍You’ll find The River Café at Thames Wharf, Rainville Rd, London, W6 9HA.
🚇 Nearest station is Hammersmith.
11. Gloria, Shoreditch
If you follow their Instagram account, you might count them amongst the best Italian restaurants in London. And probably just for their massive slice of lemon meringue pie! But don’t go just by their swanky website or the chic ambience (which puts its firmly on the list of London’s most Instagrammable spots). Their food is even better than it looks, and will keep drawing you back again, again and again!
A part of the esteemed ‘Big Mamma Group’, Gloria offers a different menu every month! Their food is outstanding and easy on the pocket. If you’re heading there now, then the black molise truffle pasta, homemade spaghetti and creamy tiramisu are really must-try dishes.
📍You’ll find Gloria at 54-56 Great Eastern Street, London, EC2A 3QR.
🚇 Nearest station is Old Street.
12. Locanda Locatelli, Marble Arch
Run by one of the UK’s and probably the world’s most famous Italian chefs, Giorgio Locatelli, Locanda Locatelli takes you on a journey to experience real, authentic Italian cuisine. This Michelin-starred spot is utter heaven for foodies, and entices people to come back time and time again due to the quality of its food and its lively ambience.
Celebrating 20 years since they first opened back in 2002 in Marylebone, Giorgio and his wife Plaxy serve you their creative take on all the usual Italian dishes. Combined with an exquisite wine menu and some pretty tasty breads, you have got yourself a hell a good meal here. Their ‘fagottini di borragine’ with walnut sauce and ‘tagliatelle’ with a kid goat sauce is as mouth-watering as it looks, and all of this is garnished with a decent side of salad.
📍You’ll find Locanda Locatelli at 8 Seymour St, Marylebone, London,W1H 7JZ.
🚇 Nearest station is Marble Arch.
13. Officina 00, Old Street
Did you know Officina 00 is the flour used to make pasta? The name captures the foundation of Italian cooking and serves delectable dishes loved by all. Here, the friendly and knowledgeable staff give you a good view of the fresh pasta being rolled and pinched in their open kitchen while you sit sipping their wine on tap – sounds a pretty good deal if you ask us!
Their ‘corzetti’ with wild mushroom and house pork sausage, ‘gnocchi alla romana’ with giudia artichokes and croquettes are absolutely unmissable. Top all this off with a twisted negroni and you’ve got yourself one hell of a night here. They even do pasta-making too!
📍You will find Officina 00 at 156 Old Street, London, EC1V 9BW.
🚇 Nearest station is Old Street.
14. Marcella, Deptford
You can’t pay a visit to this part of town without grabbing lunch or dinner in Italian restaurant Marcella. The sister restaurant of Artusi in Peckham, this easygoing, laidback spot is all about the food – and boy is it good. As well as having some of the best pasta in the whole of London, Marcella also offers some mouthwatering mains like ox cheek with polenta and savoy cabbage and salt cod with cocco bianco.
They also have also some excellent dessert here too, including olive oil cake with crème fraîche and lemon sorbet ice cream. Sign us up!
📍You’ll find Marcella 165A Deptford High Street, London, SE8 3NU.
🚇 Nearest station is Deptford.
15. Brasseria, Notting Hill
Blending Italian Heritage with London Glamour, step into Brasseria to indulge in the freshest and most seasonal ingredients fused with Italian flavours, where humble recipes are refined and elevated.
Their signature dishes include their cotoletta alla Milanese, the hand-made fettuccine with porcini mushrooms and truffle creams, and the Dover sole alla Mugnaia – plated and deboned right at your table. Alongside this, guests can also enjoy the freshest additions to the à la carte menu such as the insalata di fregola and the must-order, risotto al caprese.
And why not let yourself be transported to the Tuscan countryside with their sun-drenched terraces, accompanied by a glass of fine Italian wine from their collection of Super Tuscan wines or classic cocktails. Sounds pretty good to us…
📍You’ll find Brasseria at 290 Westbourne Grove, London, W11 2PS.
🚇 Nearest station is Notting Hill Gate.
So there you have it! Even though Italian cuisine often needs few ingredients, it takes a unique set of hands to create something that’s pretty out-of-this-world. Each place in this list of the best Italian restaurants in London has certainly earned the accolades we say.