Now this is a city that eats Italian in many, many ways. Across London, you’ll find neighborhood spots that are dressed like design studios but cook like it’s always pranzo della domenica, pit-stops slinging real Neapolitan pies, and plenty of wood-fired grills that take to steaks and fish. The first Italian eateries here were the post-war cafés and espresso bars—places like Bar Italia (1949) and the East End institutions that served fry-ups and penne on the same laminate tables. But the city has come far since then, and today, regional specificity has arrived, quinto quarto plates are on the rise, and made-in-house pastas have become the norm rather than the exception.

Here, a guide to the best Italian restaurants, cafés, and bars in The Big Smoke, in collaboration with Fine Dining Lovers by S.Pellegrino. (A big thanks to our Italy Segreta friends, family, and contributors Michela de Mori, Cathleen Mair, Sofia Tertzakian, Will Oakley, Genevieve Verdigel, and Bartolomeo Sala for helping us curate the following.)

Bar Italia (Soho) – Italy Segreta contributor Genevieve Verdigel writes: Established in 1949 by the Polledri family (and remaining in the family to this day), a visit to Bar Italia is also a step into Italian café culture of the 1960s and ’70s. You’ll have an entirely different experience at this Soho stalwart depending on what time of day you arrive and whether you’ve slept from the night before. And with opening hours from 7 AM until 5 AM, there’s no judgement here: your espresso will still be perfectly served no matter the hour. Stop by mid-morning and grab a seat outside for prime people watching, drop in early evening and have a quick drink at the bar to set you up for the night ahead, and come back at 4 AM for a much-needed sugar hit courtesy of their cannolo.

Luca (Clerkenwell) – “Modern Italian” is Luca’s own descriptor, and it fits: a one-star Michelin restaurant in Clerkenwell where Executive Chef Rob Chambers filters the Italian canon through impeccably British produce. The food is Luca at its best when it elevates the seemingly simple: cult Parmesan fries to start, pastas that rotate with the seasons (for example, rigatoni with pork-sausage ragù, tomato, anchovy, and mint), and desserts like tiramisù and caramelized lemon tart. It’s also a particular favorite of the Italy Segreta team, who hosted an unbelievable dinner here in September inspired by our latest magazine: A Tavola. 

Bocca di Lupo (Soho) – The heart of Soho is not where you’d expect to embark on a culinary journey across Italy but, in an area dominated by bright lights and fast food chains, Bocca di Lupo is not your archetypal West End eatery. Founded on Jacob Kennedy’s deep love for, and understanding of, Italy, the overarching concept is to draw attention to the distinct culinary traditions of Italy’s 20 regions without flattening this landscape. On the twice-daily and resolutely seasonal menu, each item is identified by the region (and sometimes city) from where it originates. This means that a single meal can take you from Lombardy (by way of porcini risotto) to Rome (with trippa alla Romana) finishing off in Naples by way of a Babà al Rum for two. It’s an ode to Italy’s nuances in the finest possible way. Grab a seat at the bar, and start with the fritti Romani; be that supplì or veal- and pork-stuffed olives. For those hankering for a livener to finish, the Hades—an Albertino corrected with Campari—is the (potentially dangerous) way to go, writes Genevieve Verdigel.

Brutto (Farringdon) – On a quiet street in Farringdon, Brutto is the late Russell Norman’s take on a Florentine trattoria by way of NYC. Low lighting, checked tablecloths, candlesticks stuck into Chianti fiaschi… it’s got full ’80s vibes with just the tiniest hint of kitsch and a thumping playlist to match. But, beyond being a destination in its own right, the food is as close to a Florentine nonna’s cooking that you’re going to get outside of Tuscany. “Brutto ma buono” (“ugly but good”) is the philosophy here. Simple but well-executed starters include the requisite coccoli with stracchino and prosciutto, pinzimonio, and anchovies with sourdough toast (thankfully not Tuscan bread) and perfect butter curls. The pastas are all on point too, but the main event here is the bistecca alla fiorentina, sourced from Smithfield Market, accompanied by contorni of roast potatoes and a pristine green salad. And don’t forget to start or end with the £5 Brutto Negroni, writes Genevieve Verdigel.

Campania (Shoreditch) – Generous servings in a gorgeous setting, and southern Italian cooking that hits all the cozy notes—at Campania, fresh pasta is made by hand daily, with a short, changing menu that often features gnudi with sage butter, big bowls of pappardelle (best with a rich ragù di cervo) and ricotta-and-mushroom tortelli that even omnivores will love. There’s a DIY Parmigiano wedge and grater on the table, which says everything about how they want you to eat here.

Dalla (Hackney) – Dalla is a new neighborhood Italian spot with serious chops. Home-style cooking comes courtesy of chef Mitchell Damota alongside Gianmarco Leone, and a space conceived by Spazio Leone, in collaboration with Sicilian designer Oscar Piccolo, lends a hip, design-y edge. Damota’s research habit turns up regional specialties you don’t always see in London (Sardinian angiulottos di arrescottu, Piedmontese panissa, Abruzzese pallotte cacio e uova), while also offering simple, elegant versions of Italian comfort classics; for example, fieno di Canepina with mushrooms and sausage or impossibly chewy trofie glossed with parsley pesto and goat’s cheese. The wins keep on coming when you get to dessert, with options like the classic tiramisù, zabaione with fragoline, or even Babà al Rum when the mood strikes. Plus, after marrying at Hackney Town Hall in July 2025, Charli XCX and George Daniel took their wedding party to Dalla for a family-style dinner (at which “loads of pasta and champagne” were reportedly served) cementing the restaurant’s place in recent London lore. 

Oi Vita Pizzeria (Newington Green) – Italy Segreta contributor Bartolomeo Sala loves this Newington Green neighborhood pizzeria for proper Neapolitan pies at affordable prices. Owners Matteo and Nicola keep things simple and ingredient-led, with a menu that’s classic at heart and refreshed with seasonal specials throughout the year. Expect the essentials—Margherita, Bufalina, and Diavola—alongside cult orders like the heavy-hitting Zola with spicy salame, gorgonzola, and caramelized numbers.

Italia Uno (Fitzrovia) — This café is the go-to for UCL students, delivery riders (spot the stack of e-bike batteries by the door), suits, and engineers, all crammed into a nearly 30-year-old stalwart (39 if you count the previous Soho location). Though they do have pasta on the menu, the order of the day here is the arancini or the panini; go for the bolognese, the piccante, or the bondola. It’s fitting that the café is named for the Italian TV channel because entertainment is built-in via six wall-mounted TVs streaming Italian news, football, and the Italian version of The Simpsons. 

manteca (Shoreditch) – This Shoreditch spot pays respect to Italy’s nose-to-tail values, says Italy Segreta contributor Will Oakley. manteca is the brainchild of chef Chris Leach and David Carter (of Smokestak), a pairing that shows in the hand-rolled pasta, in-house salumi, and wood-fired grill. The menu reads like a greatest-hits list of modern London Italian: brown crab cacio e pepe, fazzoletti with duck ragù, ’nduja-steamed mussels, and an improbably silky pig-skin ragù that regulars talk about in reverent tones. The buzzy room is built for repeat visits (you can sit along the counter and watch the chefs at work), and the Michelin inspectors agree—manteca currently holds a Bib Gourmand in the 2025 UK Guide.

Forno (Hackney) – Forno is the East London trifecta: bakery, pastificio, and deli from the Ombra team, turning out cloud-light maritozzi, butter-scented cornetti, pizza al taglio, and shelves of house-made pasta and sauces to take home. The incredible soundsystem (and playlists) make it a lovely place to go by oneself or with company. 

Morchella (Islington)– Morchella is the Perilla team’s Mediterranean spin-off, tucked just off Exmouth Market in a handsome former bank that now splits the room between a buzzy dining space and a serious wine bar. The restaurant is not strictly Italian: the kitchen—led by head chef Daniel Fletcher—works in a modern, roam-the-Med register, with a menu of shareable plates and pastas that nod to Greece, Spain, and Italy. That said, Morchella deserves a spot on this list for the vitello tonnato alone—served rolled up with a few leaves of punchy arugula and a delightfully lemony tuna sauce.

Leo’s (Lower Clapton) – Leo’s is a café-bar-restaurant on Chatsworth Road that does daytime with Italian-leaning ease and turns the lights down for a moodier, Sardinian-tinged dinner service. The space—housed in the former Jim’s Café—keeps its mid-century caff glamour intact: wood paneling, tiled floors, and vintage Italian posters. Lunch brings the likes of fried egg and chips with prosciutto (not necessarily something we’d eat in Italy, but delicious none the less) or a square of no-frills lasagna, while evenings move to grilled fish and pastas in the back dining room; desserts like tiramisù keep the classic cadence.

Passione Vino (Shoreditch) – For the holy trinity of exceptional wines, great food, and Italian conviviality, this is the spot. The eccentric walls are lined with bottles personally selected by founder Luca Dusi, and every single one pours by the glass (and by the bottle, of course). The food menu changes regularly and meets you where you are, whether that’s apericena or a full meal. The chef is Venetian—so you know you’ll get great creamy baccalà mantecato on fried polenta, perfectly made risotto, and bigoli—but you might just as easily find Sicilian pasta alla Norma or sciatt from the Valtellina. Must orders include whatever pastas are on that day, plus the in-house focaccia and the aforementioned baccalà mantecato—unsurpassed, and the best place to start, writes Genevieve Verdigel.

Polentina (Bow Common) – Polentina is a destination-worthy, out-east Italian canteen: a tiny, glass-walled dining room set inside Apparel Tasker’s sustainable garment factory in Bow, where you look straight onto rows of sewing machines while you eat. Founder-cook Sophia Massarella steers a daily-changing menu rooted in regional Italian home cooking (like soups layered with pane carasau and wild fennel or offal-y pastas like fettuccine alla romana with chicken giblets), served at lunch to communal tables of workers and locals and expanded into simple supper clubs in the evening.

The River Café (Hammersmith) – Since 1987, this riverside icon—born as the employee café for Ruth Rogers’ husband’s architectural firm—has defined a certain London idea of Italian cooking: seasonal, produce-led, and confident enough to move beyond the pizza–pasta binary. The room is theatrical with a brilliant fuchsia oven and large windows, and yes, part of the draw is the flex—both cultural and financial. Even fans concede it can feel overpriced and occasionally uneven, yet few places deliver a pranzo della domenica vibe quite like this (plus, the Chocolate Nemesis, a flourless chocolate cake like you’d get in Florence, remains one of London’s top desserts). For a gentler bill, there’s The River Café Café next door, a recent spin-off carrying the same ethos at less eye-watering prices. Toklas (Temple) – The Frieze founders’ restaurant in the brutalist flank of 180 The Strand, Toklas is a cool, sunlit room with a terrace and a seasonal, Mediterranean-leaning menu; next door, the team runs a bakery and café on Surrey Street. It’s the kind of place that moves from crudo and grilled fish to simply dressed vegetables and very good desserts, with an art-world crowd and a service style that keeps it unshowy.

Trullo (Highbury) – From chef Tim Siadatan and restaurateur Jordan Frieda, Trullo opened in 2010 and is still setting the city’s standard for hand-rolled pasta and charcoal-grilled mains. The split-level room near Highbury Corner is intimate at lunch and low-lit at dinner; the menu changes daily, but you can expect silky ribbons of pasta and shapes matched to sauces—like a slow-cooked beef-shin ragù—alongside simply grilled mains and vegetable sides with the seasons front and center. The place is rounded out with a concise, well-chosen wine list. It’s also the mothership for Padella, Trullo’s wildly popular pasta sibling.

Padella (Borough Market & Shoreditch) – This much-hyped Borough-to-Shoreditch pasta bar was born from Trullo’s Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda. The greatest hits are non-negotiable: pici cacio e pepe, pappardelle with 8-hour Dexter beef-shin ragù, and tagliarini with Dorset crab, chilli, and lemon. At Borough Market, it’s no bookings with a virtual queue; Shoreditch takes limited reservations and also runs a walk-up list.

Wilton Way Deli & Wines (Hackney) – This East London deli and wine bar has become the go-to for those in search of a true aperitivo. Outside, there’s plenty of seating for a spritz in the sun or a coffee break mid-day; inside the bar, shelves of wines (neatly organized by Italian region) and well-composed taglieri serve as a reminder that a drink should never be served alone. Founded by Francesca d’Agostino, who recently opened Fran’s on the same street, the all-day diner-style spot is where to find a tiny slice of Italy in this corner of the city

Riva (Barnes) – Italy Segreta contributor Genevieve Verdigel writes: The façade of Riva, on a quiet street in leafy Barnes, pre-empts its distinguished reputation as a place where classics reign. The long and narrow dining room has an unhurried air and is frequented by affluent locals and those sufficiently versed in its elan to journey to the farthermost reaches of West London. Go frequently enough and owner Andrea will simply serve up a selection of off-menu dishes that he deems to be the finest of the day. In that respect, it captures that familial spirit so fundamental to restaurants in Italy and which is so rarely replicated in London. You must order the fritto misto (always done with just the lightest touch of batter), the vitello tonnato (finished with a judicious lashing of tuna sauce), and the tiramisù—arguably London’s finest.

Vicoli di Napoli (Stoke Newington) – Vicoli di Napoli is the Stokey pit-stop for true-blue Neapolitan comfort, from cart-wheel pizzas (ruota di carro) to walk-and-eat rolls that nod to pizza a portafoglio. The dough is soft-rimmed and puffs in a wood-fired oven, and the toppings stay orthodox. You can get all your classics (Margherita, Diavola, Salsiccia e friarielli) here.

Artusi (Peckham) – This Bellenden Road bistro keeps it tight with three or so choices per course, pasta made that day, and an all-Italian wine list. Named for Pellegrino Artusi (the home-cooking patriarch of 1891), Artusi delivers on unfussy, ingredient-led plates like roasted fennel with russet apples, ricotta, and walnuts or a slow braise with confit-garlic mash and cime di rapa. In other words: a simple neighborhood bistro that cooks with care.