North Kensington, Italian - Restaurant Guide

Withnail & I (filmed a street or two away) actor, Richard E Grant for many years ate weekly at this good-looking traditional Italian in Notting Hill: one of the area’s stalwart locations (with stablemates Essenza and Osteria Basilico on the same street). One first-time visitor this year also approved: “pasta with a chicken sauce plus other things and a decent bottle of wine in preparation for a visit to the Electric Cinema. Really good experience. Would definitely go again!”

2025 Review: This “old-school” Notting Hill Italian has been “a great crowd-pleaser for the whole family” for more than 30 years. According to one local: “you will not have a great meal but on the other hand I’ve never had a bad one” – as a result it can be “extremely busy, but the service is great” and keeps on top of things. Essenza and Mediterraneo in the same street (see also) are its younger stablemates.

“The hype is annoying because it’s justified” at this “superb all-round” newcomer: the former industrical-chic site of Pizza East now made over as a deceptively casual haunt by the team behind nearby smash hit, The Pelican (and the much-fêted Hero in Maida Vale). Instantly hailed as one of London’s top Italians – “simple but beautifully executed food” emerges from the open kitchen presided over by River Café alums, Jessica Filbey and Harry Hills (and “by god they can cook” is the verdict delivered by both The Standard’s David Ellis and The Mail on Sunday’s Tom Parker-Bowles in their late 2024 reviews). “The only draw back is that they don’t take bookings”. Top Tip – anything with pasta.