Knightsbridge, Italian Restaurant Guide

“Always packed, very reliable Italian” near the Albert Hall whose “formula has stood the test of time” (since 1967) and which feels “here for the duration”. There’s a “standard and well-cooked menu of pastas, pizzas and salads”, “amazing home-made ice cream”, and “plenty of photos to remind you of their most famous regular of bygone years, Princess Di!”, who used to bring the young princes from nearby Kensington Palace for a lunchtime treat (not shy about the connection, their Instagram proclaims ‘Here to serve Celebrities, Royalty, and YOU’).

Opening its 10th branch in 2025 – amidst the towers of Canary Wharf – this much commented- on chain is leaving behind its Soho roots – as a quaint old deli of 75 years’ standing – and is now in full-on ‘roll-out’ mode. Fans still find it “very impressive for a chain that’s growing so fast” and tip its “lovely mint-green” outlets as “an ideal place to meet and enjoy authentic pasta and Italian dishes”. Some branches, though, are better than others: in particular the “friendly and relaxed Marylebone branch at the junction of Wigmore Street is a winner”. Others, though, can show the strains of expansion: “What’s the point? It’s neither stand-out, nor cheap and cheerful. Unexceptional pasta is served in a so-so ambience. I am not sure I get it??”

“Seemingly effortlessly classy and convivial” – these attractive spinoffs from the national San Carlo chain provide “casual dining with Italian small plates in a lively setting” and can be particularly “great for a pre-theatre meal” given their “very convenient locations for the West End” (including a stone’s throw from Piccadilly Circus). There are drawbacks though: “quality of the dishes is a little variable”; “tables are squeezed in”; and conversation can be “difficult” (“this place is described as ’buzzy’, for which I would read loud”).

New large (125 cover) Knightsbridge Italian launched in February 2025. As with other recent openings, ‘the essence of the Amalfi Coast’ is a focus, but the menu spans a number of Italian regions (sample dishes include: Figliata di Battipaglia, Culatello di Zibello, Risotto con Gambero & Saffron, Sicilian Carpaccio Gambero Rossi di Mazara, Tagliatelle with white Alba truffle). In his March 2023 review, the Daily Mail’s Tom Parker Bowles was unimpressed, dubbing it a “Berlusconi boudoir” (“Money hasn’t just been lavished on the place, but splashed and flashed and frittered and thrown”). Reports please!