From Venetian breakfast plates to Moorish-inspired ravioli, these are the new restaurants mixing up Italian food in the capital. Buon appetito!
Words Hannah Hopkins
Fucina
This chic new Italian restaurant on Chiltern Street is run by renowned chef, Stefano Stecca. Although the menu is derived from traditional recipes inspired by Stefano’s childhood, Fucina represents a new wave of Italian cooking in London, elevating simple ingredients to umami-rich creations.
Margot
Two powerhouse restaurateurs, Paulo De Tarso (Bar Boulud) and Nicolas Jaouen (La Petite Maison) have teamed up to open their own place in Covent Garden. A slick Italian restaurant serving lunch, dinner, pre and post theatre, expect mouthwatering dishes like hare ragu and impeccable service.
Sartoria
This Mayfair institution relaunched with D&D and Francesco Mazzei, formerly of L’Anima in the city. The all-day modern Italian eatery now has a Calabria-inspired menu, cicchetti bar and lots of wine.
Ostuni
Highgate is now home to the second Ostuni (the original is in Queen’s Park). Much like the first location the restaurant is focused on offering food and wine from the Southern Italian region Puglia with cool, rustic surroundings.
Amici Miei
An Italian kitchen located in the beating heart of uber-trendy Shoreditch. The menu boasts delicious dishes such as their orecchiette alle cime di rapa, a pasta dish of Italian broccoli, breadcrumbs, and a choice of pork cheeks or anchovies, as well as a range of freshly cooked pizzas, tapas offerings and meat and fish dishes.
Veneta
Fans of the Salt Yard group (Salt Yard, Dehesa, Opera Tavern, Ember Yard) cannot miss Veneta, the fifth restaurant from the same team, specialising in Venetian plates. Traditionalists should come for their lunch and dinner menu of classics: bigoli with sardines, charcoal-grilled monkfish and polenta with girolles – they’ll also be putting their spin on breakfast such as baked eggs with spinach, tomato ragu, speck and basil.
Popolo
No relation to Polpo, Popolo – based on Shoreditch’s Rivington Street – fuses Spanish tapas with Italian and Moorish flavours. Dine on labneh with fried olives, chickpeas and morita chilli, salt cod tempura, pan roast quail and burnt honey panna cotta.
Luca
Love the Clove Club? Then check out Luca, their new Italian venture. Combining Italian with British produce, you can expect grouse and whisky ravioli, Cornish fritto misto and tortelloni in pheasant broth. There’s even a snack bar where you can tuck into beef carpaccio with oysters and enjoy Italian wine.
