The best Italian restaurants in London

Angelina, in Dalston, thrillingly melds Italian and Japanese cooking, with a set menu of seasonal dishes that demonstrate how fusion cooking can still be innovative and exciting, rather than painfully outdated, such as veal cottoletta sando with hispi and umeboshi or chawanmushi with lamb and fennel. Those seeking a more casual, à la carte offering should head to sister restaurant Osteria Angelina in Spitalfields. 

Soho institution Bocca di Lupo is always 'on' – busy, buzzy and very Theatreland (and the perfect spot for a quick, good-value pre-theatre set menu in fact). If you're staying for longer, you have a big, regional Italian menu to dive into, and as with most modern Italian restaurants in London, a seat at the counter is always recommended. Many regulars will also tell you the pro-move is to forgo dessert and head over the road to the restaurant's own gelateria, Gelupo, to finish your meal. 

Chef Angela Hartnett’s Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant is all about the simple things done well. Inspired by her upbringing cooking with her Italian mother and grandmother, Hartnett’s food is simple, yet refined – elevated, but not alienating. Homemade pastas are expertly crafted, ragus are deep and rich, and desserts are coo-worthy, all utilising the best British ingredients alongside Italian non-negotiables. Hartnett's own brand of excellent Tuscan extra virgin olive oil is a revelation. 

The restaurant that started London’s fresh pasta craze. Padella’s informal approach and treatment of simple ingredients to create something wonderful has been a template for numerous others, but nobody does it quite like them. There's always a broad spread of pastas on – the pici cacio e pepe and the pappardelle with beef shin ragu are must-orders, but the tagliarini with crab, chilli and lemon also sings. It's difficult to imagine a London restaurant world where popping out for a few plates of fresh pasta and a drink, seated at the counter watching the chefs at work, wasn't the norm, but it wasn't before Padella arrived. 

This iconic Thameside eatery is, in many people’s eyes, London’s best Italian restaurant, one that could have easily become a heritage restaurant living off past glories, but where the passion for the finest Italian ingredients, direct from the culinary motherland, is as strong as it's ever been. Much is made of the cost, and yes, it's most definitely a special occasion restaurant for all but the wealthiest. But a long leisurely lunch out on the terrace on a warm day (or cold, they have superb heaters), tucking into divine antipasti, perfect pastas and the best lemon tart in London (or the notorious Chocolate Nemesis for the brave), is an idyllic experience. 

Chef Adam Byatt’s first professional foray into Italian food, in leafy Wandsworth, down the road from his adored restaurant, Trinity, is an unmitigated success. This is a classy restaurant, well thought out, with a menu of things you want to eat, and a friendly and knowledgeable team. The seasoning is noticeably on point too, in standout dishes like smoked sardines on toast and ’nduja strozzapreti.

Padella’s grown-up sister is the kind of local restaurant we'd all like to have in our neighbourhood. The vibe is slow and easy, like its signature dish, pappardelle with eight-hour beef shin ragu, with pastas rolled just before service and much of the flavour in the meat and fish dishes imparted from the charcoal grill. This is not a quick plate of pasta and a glass of wine type of place; Trullo is about slowing down and savouring the experience, the food and the ingredients, a place where you'll feel compelled to put off whatever you had to do today until tomorrow.