Rickmansworth, Italian Restaurant Guide

This “great local” has had an up-and-down time of it of late, with the Gerrards Cross branch under new management, and The Grocer at 91, which had pivoted to being a food shop in the pandemic, now closed. On the plus side, this “very busy” outpost is still going strong with its “reliable” (if pricey) sandwiches, salads and toasties, and they also recently opened a new Amersham venue, The Grocer at 2 (Whielden St), spanning a grocery store and café.

2022 Review: Set in a “lovely building” with tables under a 200-year-old olive tree, this restaurant – one of eight in a local chain – is frequently packed with regulars, who come back for its “good honest Italian fare at a reasonable price”. There’s “something for everyone on the menu”.

“A true treasure in the leafy suburbs”, this “small and quirky” 16th-century pub operates as a “restaurant spread over different rooms”, “delivering a consistently high standard of high-quality British/Italian cooking”. “Luca (Delnevo) and the team treat you as part of the extended family”.

2021 Review: From its Finsbury Park base (next to the Park Theatre), this “cheerful” group of “good neighbourhood pasta-stops” subsequently expanded to Ealing and then onto Wembley branch (there’s also an outlet in Westfield Stratford); all deliver “well-cooked”, affordable pasta.

2021 Review: From its Finsbury Park base (next to the Park Theatre), this “cheerful” group of “good neighbourhood pasta-stops” subsequently expanded to Ealing and then onto Wembley branch (there’s also an outlet in Westfield Stratford); all deliver “well-cooked”, affordable pasta.

2023 Review: “Top Neapolitan pizza” (with a very wide range of choices and featuring ingredients shipped from Italy weekly) helps inspire fans of this casual, brick-walled Kilburn independent.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary next year, this “big, bustling old favourite in the heart of Golders Green” (occupying a railway arch by the tube) has itself hosted more than its fair share of birthdays over the years thanks to a crowd-pleasing combination of “generous portions of pasta and pizza” at “very reasonable prices”.

Home-made pasta and other Italian classics hit the spot at this “enjoyable local restaurant” in Child’s Hill, a family-run business for more than four decades which moved to its present address 22 years ago.

2021 Review: “What a find!” – In a fairly obscure part of town, near the Queen’s Park Estate, “a really cosy, neighbourhood Italian, serving a top selection of cheap ’n’ cheerful dishes, but also more pricey ones, all freshly made and of great quality” (in particular the hand-rolled pasta). Service from husband-and-wife team Simonetta and Avi “is very professional but lively, and there’s a real sense of community at play (e.g. the staff were handing out little pieces of paper with a guest’s name on it, asking us to sing along for his birthday!)”

2022 Review: A “lovely local” near Turnham Green, this “family-owned Italian” is “tiny but with terrific food and atmosphere”. There’s a good range of pizzas but the Puglian dishes are what makes it special.

Under a picturesque Georgian terrace, close to St John-in-Hampstead church, this basement tapas bar is a prime destination in the area thanks to its “consistently delicious food, attentive staff” and “lovely atmosphere”. The menu adds Italian elements to its Spanish core, and there’s a “very good wine selection”.

“Great Roman-style crispy pizzas” along with a full selection of tapas, starters, “ever-changing Italian main courses” and a “fun Notting Hill vibe” ensure that this smart pub conversion is “a definite step up from the pizza chains” while “still reasonable value”. Two offshoots further west – the Oak W12 near Ravenscourt Park and the Bird in Hand at Brook Green – repeat the trick.

“There’s an air of old-school sophistication as you enter” this “established Italian” with starched white linen “off an alleyway in Hampstead”. It scored consistently well this year for its “charming and helpful” service and “fab food, without fab prices”. Top Tip – “the wild boar ragu”.

This “beautiful courtyard” on the Chiswick High Road “feels like a little bit of (the expensive part) of Tuscany – but at least you’ve saved on the air fare”, and the “delightful atmosphere, good fish and pasta” add to the impression. The Chianti estate it is named after has exported wine to London for 300 years.

A modern Italian on Abbey Road, whose menu is “not the biggest”, majoring in pasta and light ‘bites’. Feedback this year was a little up-and-down: “always enjoyable” to fans, but, to other regulars “less good and more pricey than it used to be”.

“An excellent venue for a meal before a performance at Richmond Theatre” – this “good value” Italian restaurant near the station has long been a mainstay of the area. Top Tips – set menus are a feature for lunch and pre-theatre, and the wine list is extensive.

This “lovely local Italian” near Ravenscourt Park tube is getting back into its stride after “a dreadful time with lockdown followed by a flood at the premises”. Ex-Zafferano chef Andy Needham and his team offer a “really warm welcome and a beautifully executed short menu”. Top Menu Tip – “excellent pasta and specials”.

2021 Review: “Fun and lively, with a management who make you feel extremely welcome” – this simple, ‘Italian kitchen’ in Swiss Cottage serves pizza and pasta plus somewhat more ambitious dishes: it’s all “delicious and good value for money”.