17 Of The Best Italian Restaurants In London

In the 1950s, Elizabeth David used her food column in British Vogue to introduce readers to a wondrous European ingredient: spaghetti. Cut to 2026, and the best Italian restaurants in London serve every conceivable variety of pasta, often made in-house, while British diners are familiar with everything from puntarelle to nduja, scamorza to bresaola.

Of course, there’s the River Cafe, widely credited with transforming British gastronomy from its out-of-the-way spot on the Thames, and Bar Italia, a site of pilgrimage for Italian expats, where a vintage ’50s Gaggia coffee machine is kept going 22 hours a day. Then there are the relative newcomers around town, each with their own specialties to try: bistecca alla Fiorentina at Brutto, parmesan fries at Luca, flame-grilled lamb arrosticini at Auguste…

Below, Vogue rounds up the best Italian restaurants in London to visit now. Buon appetito.

Osteria Vibrato

There’s something one-of-a-kind – almost nonconformist – about Greek Street’s Osteria Vibrato, a lively yet unassuming old school-style trattoria; with its overspilling wax candles, dark wood paneling and myriad oil paintings. The vibes are laidback without being casual – think starched tablecloths, great hunks of shared bread, endless red wine – with seasonal food that leans pared back and dynamic (earthy tagliatelle with cortile ragù, punchy white risotto with aged parmigiano reggiano, lashings of verdant olive oil on everything). The Vogue tip? Ask for some fresh lemonade, made to order. It could just be the most satisfying little treat in the capital.

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Ciao Bella

Atmosphere-wise, Ciao Bella is as close as you’re likely to get to a red sauce joint in London – there are even heaping portions of spaghetti and meatballs on offer, with enormous baskets of garlic bread to mop up the sauce. Neither seasonality nor regionality are taken into account on any level, and that’s part of the charm (no one is going to explain the provenance of the mozzarella to you here, and you could probably even get away with a dusting of parmesan on a seafood pasta, if that’s your bag). Take a seat underneath a framed Fellini still on the ground floor, or beside an Antonello Venditti mural in the basement, and dig in.

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Auguste

Hackney’s Italian joint Auguste – whose artfully half-melted candles and clear-broth cappelletti in brodo you’ve probably seen plastered across your IG feed – is a lot of fun. It helps that, located on the edge of London Fields, it attracts the sort of stupidly good-looking people who have spent all day sunning themselves and now wish to be stupidly good-looking indoors, with cocktails. The menu is short, zippy and reasonably priced, so it’s worth coming with friends and ordering one of everything. Highlights include: greasy (in a good way) flame-grilled lamb arrosticini, richly savoury boar-stuffed morels and an incredibly creamy mascarpone, spiced rum and coffee caramel tart that could – and I’m not being superfluous – be Hackney’s most delectable dessert.

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Legare

Tucked within a former spice warehouse among the cobbled Victorian streets of Shad Thames, neighbourhood fixture Legare offers simple, seasonal Italian food done well. Go there to catch up with friends over shared heaps of oily spaghetti alle vongole, rich, salty bagna cauda and light, fluffy polenta cake doused in star anise-spiked plum compote. The cocktails here are actually mega: their Sarti Rosa spritz is like necking a balloon glass of sunshine and their Negronis are almost preternaturally balanced. Casual but sophisticated; an ideal after-work date spot.

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Manteca

Restaurants are always described as “buzzy”, but at Manteca – an Italian-inspired diner tucked in a corner of Shoreditch’s Curtain Road – the word feels apt. Think: young professionals clinking Negronis after work, big groups of friends chatting over cacio e pepe and ragu genovese and enthusiastic servers weaving between industrial-style tables while chefs hand-roll pasta and mixologists shake cocktails on full display.

Food-wise, the menu dances between rich and delicate, with citrusy salads alongside sumptuous beef steaks and sweet, meaty pappardelle. Their whole thing is “nose-to-tail” cooking, promoting a less wasteful approach to consumption, with a balanced variety of meats and small plates. To sum up: come for the melt-in-the-mouth pork chop and stay for the zesty Arancello (a recent addition to the drinks menu), or – my favourite – a bright, silky apricot sour.

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Brutto

Housed in a converted sausage factory near Smithfield Market, Polpo founder Russell Norman’s Brutto is inspired by Tuscan trattorias, meaning its red gingham tablecloths are frequently obscured by bistecche alla Fiorentina. It’s the sort of place you go for the ambiance (soft lighting, dark woodwork) as much as the brutto ma buono (ie “ugly, but good”) dishes. It still has the feel of a casual neighbourhood restaurant, even if the clientele tips east London foodie with a blue tick. Another selling point: the £5 negronis, best enjoyed with the much-photographed anchovies and St John’s sourdough.

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The River Cafe

It’s impossible to write about the best Italian restaurants in London without including the River Cafe. More than 30 years since it opened its doors in Hammersmith, Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray’s Thames-side restaurant is still just as brilliant as it always has been. Treat yourself to a meal based around hearty winter produce, then bring home a copy of River Cafe 30 or The River Cafe Look Book to recreate the likes of their panzanella in your own kitchen.

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Lupa

A joint venture between restaurateur Ed Templeton and White Lotus star Theo Games, Roman-style North London restaurant Lupa has already garnered the sort of hype that means it’s nearly impossible to get one of its 28 seats – but it’s worth the wait. Emphasising quality over frills (Roman comfort food), the Lupa menu is pared-back and delectable. Picture: big fat riccio fiorentino tomatoes served with lashings of olive oil, guanciale-studded amatriciana and seared cod glistening in caramalised butter.

Cocktails are short but heat-packed, while the decor – lime-washed walls, ivory curtains, fresh flowers and flickering candles on wood – feels straight out of Rome. Oh and their coffee-soaked Tiramisu might be a fan favourite, but it’s their velvety berry tart that’ll linger in your mouth after closing time.

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Campania

A southern Italian restaurant housed in a former dairy in the middle of Hackney, Campania has charm in spades. There’s a wood-burning fireplace crowded with stacks of logs in the back room, a tiny courtyard that might just be the loveliest place to sip espresso in London, and Columbia Road Market right around the corner. That’s all before mentioning the food, which is beautifully presented and hard to fault. Don’t leave without ordering the gnudi with sage butter.

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Luca

Owned by the team behind The Clove Club, Luca is, quite simply, excellent, marrying British produce (Wiltshire trout, Hereford beef) with Italian flavours. Reserve a table in the dining room to feast your way through the likes of strozzapreti with octopus and Hebridian lamb with violet artichokes – or take advantage of their bar menu, available between noon and 3pm daily, which includes Luca’s deservedly famous parmesan fries.

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Trullo

Owned by the same team as Padella, Trullo both takes reservations and serves hearty mains in addition to pasta. Like its more laidback sister restaurant, the food offering at this classic trattoria changes daily, with the dishes from the charcoal grill being the highlight. Think John Dory with Castelluccio lentils or Dorset lamb with cavolo nero.

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Dante

Claridges may represent the best of British hospitality, but the latest addition to its dining portfolio brings Manhattan brass to the Mayfair grande dame. This summer, West Village transplant Dante’s residency turned permanent, making its bolshy offering of New York-Italian classics and zippy martinis a W1 fixture.

Buffed bottle-green leather banquettes and Art Deco splendour live up to the postcode’s chic cachet, but the menu caters more to an audience keen to cut loose and live to the fullest over heaping plates of lobster linguine, Dover sole meunière and parmesan-showered veal milanese. Moreover, it’s a total hoot – rare are places in this part of town that don’t take themselves too seriously, as the photo-printed espresso martinis that round out the service. A slight gimmick? Perhaps, but one that’s well worth leaning into.

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Bocca Di Lupo

Bocca di Lupo has become a West End institution since it opened a decade ago. The menu changes twice daily, and each dish includes a note about the region of Italy from which it originates. Begin with platters of crudi e salumi before working your way through primi and secondi, then cross the road to the restaurant’s gelateria Gelupo for dessert.

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Bancone

Bancone has won over some of London’s toughest food critics since opening a few years ago. It now has two locations – one in Covent Garden and one on Golden Square – with the former being the nicer of the two. Every region in Italy is represented on its ever-changing menu, and the pasta is made in-house daily. Try their exceptionally good burrata, currently served with salt-baked beetroot and preserved lemon.

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Brawn

Brawn has evolved significantly since it first opened in 2010 – and under chef Ed Wilson’s ownership, it’s only become more delicious. Granted, the menu pulls inspiration from across Europe rather than limiting itself to Italy – moreish ingredients rather than culinary traditions rule here – but good luck finding better agnolotti in brodo in London.

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Cecconi’s

Cecconi’s may now be owned by Soho House, but there’s something delightfully old-school about the Mayfair branch, whose green leather seats are still filled with W1 suits brokering deals over chicken paillard at lunchtime. Note the bowl of Cecconi-branded matches near the entrance, and the heavy silver cutlery on every table. The cichetti are almost better than the primi and secondi (it’s Enzo Cecconi, a former GM of Cipriani, who founded the original restaurant in London in 1978 – hence the Venetian inflection to the menu).

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Bar Italia

Calling Bar Italia a restaurant is a stretch, but this tiny Soho café is a real treasure. First opened in 1949 by husband and wife Lou and Caterina Polledri, today it’s run by their grandchildren, and still boasts many of its original features, including a red-and-white formica counter. Open between 7am and 3am most days, it’s the ideal pitstop for an espresso and cannolo after a late dinner or a night out.

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