Holborn, Italian Restaurant Guide

2024 Review: The timing of its debut, during Covid 19, couldn’t have been harder for this Covent Garden three-year-old, and it has yet to attract a huge volume of feedback or a settled view from diners. One fan says “you get a twist on Italian cooking, and boy do they get it right” in a “superb, light and airy space that’s ideal for a business meal”. To a critic it’s “bizarre eating in what feels like, and actually is, a hotel lobby, with some dishes very clumsily seasoned”.

Kudos to Angela Hartnett’s team for the “consistently high standards and predictable quality” of these “handy Italians”, which inspire many recommendations in our annual diners’ poll for “a casual bite with great Italian food” in the West End. “The food is hearty (e.g. rigatoni with fennel sausage ragu), simple but well executed and service charming and friendly”. In summer 2025, she opened her fourth location, with a Marylebone site joining her other operations in St James’s, Bermondsey and Covent Garden. In particular, they are “perfect pre-theatre”; and they also often get a shout-out for their welcome to families (“my two-year-niece from Australia was over and the staff couldn’t have been more friendly”).

“A one-of-a-kind institution” – this “crazy-busy traditional Italian” opposite Great Ormond Street hospital in Bloomsbury provides “an ambience reminiscent of Fellini and Antonioni films” alongside “well-cooked cuisine served with panache” – “just go-go-go with your whole family”, “grandparents, grandchildren and all in between”. Fans from Boris Johnson to restaurant critic Marina O’Loughlin flock here for a meal free from foodie refinement and loaded with “fun” – “it’s the kind of place that feels like home”; it’s also excellent value for such a central address.

“Beautiful, ‘ugly’ food just as Norman wanted” – Russell Norman’s family are doing full justice to his legacy at the genius trattoria he opened near Smithfield Market just a couple of years before his death in November 2023. “Noisy, intimate, dark, sexy, fab” – it combines “memorable Tuscan fare and vibe” all in one go, all at an incredibly approachable price considering. “Equally good for date night or a business lunch too”: it’s “always fun to visit, just bursting with stuff you simply want to eat”, and – vitally – “they understand the food has to be good but it’s the whole experience that counts”. (“Can’t wait to go back and often” – “It’s my new favourite when I’m craving pasta… unfortunately it seems to be a favourite for many other people too!”). Top Tips – “The £5 Negronis are just as amazing as advertised as well as the penne vodka and sausages”. “No matter how many times you eat it, the rabbit pasta is delicious”. “The tiramisu is still amazing”.

On the ground floor of what was once the Daily Telegraph’s Fleet Street HQ, a sister concept to Emerald Hospitality Group’s Como Garden. This late 2025 opening will house a salumeria (Italian deli), restaurant, bar, and 60-seat terrace. For more details see ‘Dining on the Clouds’.