Bloomsbury, Italian Restaurant Guide

“A small but perfectly crafted menu” from former Rochelle Canteen chef Anna Tobias wins admirers for her revamped greasy spoon in Bloomsbury, opened five years ago with help from the 40 Maltby Street team. “The ingredients are the star and the dishes sing – everything is so deliciously scrumptious”, say fans – “there’s no frill or nonsense here, just Flavour with a capital F”. There’s an undercurrent of feeling, though, that the prices charged might justify a little more pizzazz.

“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.

“This huge trattoria in Fritzrovia” from the successful Big Mamma Group is “basically fake Sicily on steroids” – an “Instagramable kind of place (you have been warned)” with a “menu full of shouting puns” and “carbonara served in a pecorino wheel”. The food is arguably a tad “average” but it’s generously portioned and, unless you were expecting foodie fireworks, “never disappoints”; while “service is always impressively quick, despite the high number of guests at the weekend”.

2024 Review: “Awesome, thin and crispy pizza” has built quite a following for this “fast, simple, really cheap and really cheerful” Goodge Street spot – where, “unless strip lighting, functional metal tables and chairs are your thing, the ambience is forgettable”. Celebrating its quarter-centenary this year as ‘The People’s Pizzeria’, it now has a branch in Camden and ‘click & collect’ kitchens in Wood Green, Colindale and Croydon.

This “terrific family-owned and run trattoria in Covent Garden” is “a bit of an institution” after more than 30 years’ service, but “still produces traditional Italian food at a reasonable price given where it is situated”. “Andrea has a great team and is a warm and welcoming host to his small trattoria, hung with photos of Italian film stars of the Fifties and Sixties”. It’s a narrow room with “cosy” tables – and “booking is essential”.

The food of Emilia-Romagna is the inspiration for this Italian duo in Shoreditch and Fitzrovia. They major in pasta, with sliced meats, cheeses and wines from the region as back-up, and all reports say the food is of a good standard.

“Cheap ’n’ cheerful” Italian dining doesn‘t get much more authentic than this cosily traditional spot in Fitzrovia, which has been pleasing locals and visitors alike for more than 35 years.

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”.

2024 Review: “A good find for a pre-theatre meal” – this “efficient and friendly” Covent Garden dining room is quite stylish for somewhere inside a modern chain hotel, and serves an offbeat mix of Peruvian and Italian dishes: “a great selection”, with “lots of small-plate choices and interesting combinations” – “just enough to choose easily and all delicious”.

“This small, unassuming restaurant is a favourite haunt” in Soho, featuring “imaginative, unfussy and tasty food”, with “attentive service in a buzzy environment”. Founders Cameron Emirali & Luke Wilson are “lovely people” who “get everything right”, so “the ambience is fun, with everyone enjoying themselves”. Top Tip – “it’s worth sharing plates to get twice as much pleasure for the same price”.

“A corner independent Italian in the underserved backstreets opposite King’s Cross and St Pancras” and “a short walk from the stations”. Perhaps it’s too uneventful to make much of a trip, but fans say it’s “well worth seeking out if you are in the area” for “fresh pasta and tasty, simple dishes at fair prices”. (The original venture was actually a still-existing sibling of the same name in Camden Town, on which we receive much more limited feedback).

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??”