Harden's survey result
Summary
“A reassuringly old-fashioned experience”, the Chiavarini family’s Italian restaurant across the road from the Design Museum in Kensington is still flourishing after almost 60 years – neither fading to irrelevance nor trapped in nostalgia. The cooking is inspired by the traditions of Emilia Romagna with plenty of game from the family farm in Kent, while “the service is excellent”.
Summary
“One never tires of Il Portico”, say fans of this “lovely local Italian” with “an authentic feel” opposite the Design Museum, which has been run by the Chiavarini family for more than 50 years. “Everything is served with enthusiasm” and “if prices are a bit on the high side, it’s because of the proximity of some very classy residential areas”.
Summary
“Such traditional, family-run restaurants are quite a rarity in London these days”; and the Chiavarinis have maintained this “quintessential”, “old-fashioned” trattoria, opposite the Design Museum, for over 50 years. Fans say the food is “terrific, albeit a bit pricey probably because of its posh postcode”. But there is a less charitable school of thought, which says results are “uninspired, but it’s always busy, possibly because the locals don’t know how to cook…”
Summary
This “old favourite” opposite the Design Museum, now in its sixth decade, is “always buzzing, with great Italian food and a sense that every patron is ‘family’”. It’s family-run, too, with James Chiavarini having taken over from his father, Pino. “James has introduced some modernising touches but I love the feeling that you’re in Italy when you walk in the door – there’s nothing minimal or characterless about it”.
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Il Portico?
277 Kensington High St, London, W8 6NA
Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £30.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 12.50% |
277 Kensington High St, London, W8 6NA
| Number of Diners: | |
| Required Time: | |
Opening hours
| Monday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑11 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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