Popular Italian Restaurants in London
Family and love are at the heart of Italian cooking. By using simple recipes and fresh ingredients, every single plate delivers a slice of Sicilian flavour, no matter where you're dining. London is far from the glistening shores of the Riviera, but there are three restaurants that come very close!
Tentazioni
Serving up pure Italian cuisine since 1997, Tentazioni is the gem of Mill Street. In fact, it's the gem of Queen Elizabeth Street too! Operating from two venues, this authentic Italian restaurant and deli serves some of the city's finest Mediterranean flavours.
If you're not too familiar with all that Italian cuisine can offer, or you tend to stick to a Quattro Formaggio, then I definitely recommend you order the seven course taster menu - what better way to get acquainted with the country's culinary delights? For just under £69, you can enjoy dipping your toes in every corner of the Mediterranean ocean, with a glass of wine to accompany you all the way. Sample a roasted fillet of sea bass with broad beans, clear your palate with sorbetto al melone, and indulge in a lamb calabrese.
Of course, a full a la carte menu is also on hand for those with a strong grasp of their own palate. A two-course meal at Tentazioni will set you back around £30 and is well worth it, especially if one of those courses is tiramisu!
Val Taro Ristorante
Stacking up a pile of recommendations for a tasty yet affordable Italian in a city full of chains, Val Taro is proud to be an indipendente ristorante.
Whist positioned in bustling, commercial Leicester Square, Val Taro remains true to its Italian roots, and inside boasts a unique, relaxed atmosphere with great food and good service.
A whole host of Italian favourites line the menu, with a delicious selection of fresh pastas, fish and meat. Not forgetting the all important gelato…who can resist Italian ice cream anyway?!
Downstairs, a cosy bar made atmospheric by candlelit tables, awaits thirsty guests, and offers a handful of Italian snacks to fill a small hole before the main attraction. Whilst the décor is a tad dated for cosmopolitan city life, it sits perfectly inside this Italian haven and that's why we love it.
Artigiano
Shining from within its glass frontage, Artigiano, the fashionable Italian in Belsize Village, displays a new level of sophistication. Its contemporary design and colour flow lighting create a warm ambience come day or night, and its glass frontage allows an inviting al fresco dining area even the most sun shy won't be able to resist!
As its name suggests, the Artigiano menu has been finely crafted to deliver imaginative Italian dishes, and their signature meal, spaghetti alla chitarra, is a must. Meat lovers will not be disappointed - the Gressingham duck comes highly praised - and vegetarians are also well looked after.
If you're coming as a family, your children certainly won't be going hungry so make sure they come with plenty of room! Two courses from the specially created menu are served for under ten pounds, but is packed full of all the same Italian finesse.
Tentazioni
Serving up pure Italian cuisine since 1997, Tentazioni is the gem of Mill Street. In fact, it's the gem of Queen Elizabeth Street too! Operating from two venues, this authentic Italian restaurant and deli serves some of the city's finest Mediterranean flavours.
If you're not too familiar with all that Italian cuisine can offer, or you tend to stick to a Quattro Formaggio, then I definitely recommend you order the seven course taster menu - what better way to get acquainted with the country's culinary delights? For just under £69, you can enjoy dipping your toes in every corner of the Mediterranean ocean, with a glass of wine to accompany you all the way. Sample a roasted fillet of sea bass with broad beans, clear your palate with sorbetto al melone, and indulge in a lamb calabrese.
Of course, a full a la carte menu is also on hand for those with a strong grasp of their own palate. A two-course meal at Tentazioni will set you back around £30 and is well worth it, especially if one of those courses is tiramisu!
Val Taro Ristorante
Stacking up a pile of recommendations for a tasty yet affordable Italian in a city full of chains, Val Taro is proud to be an indipendente ristorante.
Whist positioned in bustling, commercial Leicester Square, Val Taro remains true to its Italian roots, and inside boasts a unique, relaxed atmosphere with great food and good service.
A whole host of Italian favourites line the menu, with a delicious selection of fresh pastas, fish and meat. Not forgetting the all important gelato…who can resist Italian ice cream anyway?!
Downstairs, a cosy bar made atmospheric by candlelit tables, awaits thirsty guests, and offers a handful of Italian snacks to fill a small hole before the main attraction. Whilst the décor is a tad dated for cosmopolitan city life, it sits perfectly inside this Italian haven and that's why we love it.
Artigiano
Shining from within its glass frontage, Artigiano, the fashionable Italian in Belsize Village, displays a new level of sophistication. Its contemporary design and colour flow lighting create a warm ambience come day or night, and its glass frontage allows an inviting al fresco dining area even the most sun shy won't be able to resist!
As its name suggests, the Artigiano menu has been finely crafted to deliver imaginative Italian dishes, and their signature meal, spaghetti alla chitarra, is a must. Meat lovers will not be disappointed - the Gressingham duck comes highly praised - and vegetarians are also well looked after.
If you're coming as a family, your children certainly won't be going hungry so make sure they come with plenty of room! Two courses from the specially created menu are served for under ten pounds, but is packed full of all the same Italian finesse.
