Mayfair, Italian Restaurant Guide

“Delicious pizza and pasta” at remarkably sensible prices for the area draw a steady crowd to this recently refurbished family-run Italian (est. 1953) on a Mayfair corner site.

“Excellent on every count!” – Angela Hartnett’s elegant Mayfair HQ is strong on “understated luxury” and yet is a case of “unfussy fine dining” without the striving and pretentiousness that can go with this level of cuisine. Under chef George Ormond (in place since autumn 2023), the menu is “inventive but unmistakably Italian” and his “refined” dishes are “beautifully prepared” and all delivered by the “professional yet unfussy” staff. Perhaps because of its personable approach, it’s seldom recommended by expense accounters; certainly, when it comes to the bill, it’s viewed as being relatively affordable: “not cheap obviously, but quite good value for this class of place”.

“The energy is fab” at this “busy and buzzy” Mayfair haunt, whose large central bar, pavement tables and green leather stools import a sense of chic Italian glamour to this corner-site a minute from Bond Street. The Italian food (cicchetti, risotti, pastas, traditional mains) doesn’t detract from the occasion, but is “highly priced for average quality”, albeit “all decent”; and “service can suffer when it’s over-busy”. Nowadays part of Soho House, its branches spread from Berlin to West Hollywood, via the City of London (in The Ned). Comments on the latter aren’t terrible, but less enthusiastic than those for W1.

D&D London’s well-tailored venue on Savile Row “remains a firm favourite” to fans, who applaud its “beautifully cooked” Italian cuisine and elegant standards generally. But high-profile chef Francesco Mazzei left a couple of years ago and our current annual diners’ poll inspired limited and mixed feedback: chief concerns are incidents of “mediocre food” and the fact that it’s “not cheap”.

“Brava! The candle-lit tables are so classy” at this New York-style Italian newcomer in a prime Mayfair address, which is one of the most romantic arrivals of recent times, and a perfect antidote to the vogue towards tedious minimalism with its panelling, tablecloths, velvet curtains and acres of space. It’s the creation of well-connected ex-Soho House head honcho Martin Kuczmarski, and to say the press critics have raved breathlessly would be an understatement. But our reports say it deserves the acclaim. No culinary fireworks are attempted – the aim is classic Italian-American comfort food (Spaghetti Meatballs, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Filet Mignon & Fries…) – and it does what it does well.

“Sexy, Amalfi-in-the-1960s decor and music” inspire early-days fans of this high-end Mayfair Italian from the group behind Zuma and Roka, where a key feature is a hidden courtyard terrace with fully retractable roof. With its “gorgeous home-cooked Italian classics and luscious desserts for sharing”, fans say that “if your partner is not in love by the end of the meal, you need a new partner”. Not everyone shares such enthusiasm though: a minority think “it seems to appeal to a smart set with good bank balances and easily impressed palates” (and this was somewhat the view of the FT’s Tim Hayward in his December 2023 review who – notwithstanding “extremely competent” cuisine – discerned “style over substance” in an “undifferentiated international hi-luxe” setting).