Southwark, Italian Restaurant Guide

You walk past “chiller meat displays” as you enter Roberto Costa’s Italian group. Macellaio means ‘butcher’, and the focus is on quality steaks, particularly the Piemontese Fassona breed, but also including cuts from the UK (from Herefordshire) and with tomahawk and Halal options; all matched with an “extensive wine list”. “For a great and reasonable dinner (including pre-theatre) and excellent steaks” it does still have fans. But its support has waned in both quality and quantity in recent years, and the group has halved in size since the last edition, shedding branches in Bloomsbury, Borough and Clapham (all RIP) to focus on Theatreland/Soho, Exmouth Market and the South Kensington original. All of the (relatively few) reports say the food is still mostly good but increasingly there are caveats: “Hmmm, the steaks are getting pretty… not bad, but no longer as good value”. Top Menu Tip – the “dessert theatre of tiramisu created at the table”.

This quartet of “vibrant” markets selling “street food from around the globe” appears to be in a state of flux, with its original Elephant & Castle market facing demolition after 10 years – Southwark Council has granted planning permission for a new housing development which could see 40 traders losing their pitches if work starts on schedule in 2026. Meanwhile the newest MM, in Ilford, closed down ‘temporarily’ after just six months in January 2025, with no date set to reopen. The remaining two branches are in a deconsecrated church in Mayfair and at Wood Wharf near Canary Wharf.

“Knocking it out of the park, with wonderful fresh pasta, buzzy vibe and great value” – Tim Siadatan & Jordan Frieda’s famous Borough Market flagship celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and along with its magnificent Shoreditch spinoff inspires better-than-ever ratings for a superb-value offering, which continues to attract new converts (“I have taken many friends, all of whom love it”). To their credit, everything is made daily (with the kitchen on full view through the windows in EC2); and prices remain super-competitive: you can still have a bowl of pasta for under £10. The Borough original does not take bookings, but these days you can queue virtually via the Dojo app. A typical meal? – “Anchovies with bread and butter, Pasta with crab, Rhubarb and almond tart, Glass of Primitivo. Bill – very reasonable”.

“Bowled over by the quality of the pasta and the reasonable prices, especially for central London!” – that’s the appeal in a nutshell of these busy Soho and Covent Garden pitstops, which are – for their legions of fans – “useful go-tos in the West End for an affordable meal”. On the downside, some feel “the homemade pasta is less impressive than the reviews lead you to believe”; the experience can feel “rushed” (“I don’t count being reminded every ten minutes how long until they want your seats back as good service”); and the setting can seem “just too cramped”. Still, they must be doing something right, with recent openings in Borough and (as of summer 2025) Kensington.