Upton, Italian Restaurant Guide

A restaurant-within-a-restaurant, open in July 2025 within the town’s Crazy Bear (whose ownership was itself rejigged at the start of 2025). Well-known chef, Carlo Scotto, has come on board to bring an ambitious 14-seat chef’s table concept to the town in an open-kitchen environment whose launch PR promises ‘an intimate front-row seat to culinary artistry as it unfolds, with an atmosphere that feels more like a private dinner party than a conventional restaurant’. There are two experiences both with optional matched wines: the lighter, six-course ‘Carlo’s Edit’ (Tuesday to Saturday at 6pm) and ‘The Full Experience’ with eight courses (Tuesday to Saturday at 7.45pm). Sample dishes include Pickled Attika Kohlrabi, Langoustine, Jalapeno, Purple Shiso with Salad Burnet and a Moroccan Spiced Duck with morels.

2022 Review: This ultra-stylish boutique hotel reopened in late 2016 after a multi-million-pound, two-year renovation. Its “lovely food choices” run the whole gamut from Japanese dishes through to sourdough pizzas, and a large garden contributes to what's “an ideal spot on the way to Henley”.

2024 Review: 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.

“Wonderful family-run neighbourhood Italian restaurant serving out-of-the-ordinary sophisticated cooking”, near Richmond Bridge in St Margaret’s (close enough to Twickenham to offer special lunches on Six Nations days). Chef Tom Rowlandson and his wife Jade have been at the helm since 2019. Top Tip – “try to get a window table”.

There’s just one option at this Richmond stalwart from chef patron Riccardo Grigolo – a full-on blow out! – as he guides his guests through a multi-course Venetian wedding feast. It’s “the best place I know for a family celebration”, “just lovely, with good food and an exceptional ambience”… a view shared by US actor and fan Stanley Tucci, who lives nearby.

“A favourite in Richmond” – this “always very friendly stalwart” offers “efficient service” and a “fairly standard Italian menu” – which makes it “a useful pre-theatre choice, next door to the Orange Tree Theatre and a less than five minutes’ walk from Richmond Theatre”.

“Traditional, family-run Italian restaurant” – known for its “tasty food and a pleasant interior” – a fixture on the Henley waterfront “for circa 30 years”. It does a roaring trade during the annual Henley Regatta.

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.

This “classy operation”, set unexpectedly on the Chiswick High Road, is “the closest thing to going on holiday in an Italian vineyard that’s available in W4”, with “proper professional Italian waiters, a solid wine list and a lovely atmosphere” – “step into the gorgeous interior with its white linen tablecloths to start a romantic evening of simple dishes using high-quality ingredients”. It’s the UK outlet of an actual Villa Di Geggiano, on a 500-year-old wine estate just outside Siena in the Chianti-producing Tuscan hills. Top Tip – “don’t miss out on a drink in the Lounge before your meal, it’s possibly even more stunning than the main dining room”.

This smartly converted pub in Ravenscourt Park offers a full menu of Italian starters and mains, but the highlight for most reporters is the “thin and crispy Roman-style pizza – so good”. (The Bird in Hand at Brook Green is a sibling on similar lines, while the Oak in Notting Hill was relaunched in July 2025 as The Good Oak under new owners).

2024 Review: 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”.

“The ever-present staff have been there forever and are delightful”, say devotees of Andreas Riva’s Barnes veteran, which – since it opened in 1990 – has won an incredibly loyal clientele, including a surprising number of A-list regulars and food celebs (including Nigella Lawson and the late AA Gill). Set in a parade of shops at the south of Castelnau, critics note that “the interior is in need of refurbishment” although it has forever been low key and extremely unflashy. Ratings in recent years have been somewhat up-and-down, with regular complaints that its “heyday has long since passed”. That’s not the view of most diners this year, though, who feel its “simple and perfectly cooked northern Italian food” fully lives up to its longstanding renown as one of London’s top destinations for Italian cuisine: “returned here after a long absence and pleasantly surprised by the improvements in quality…”; “still fantastic after many years” and “it’s not unusual to end up sitting on the table next to David Beckham!”

2022 Review: Having opened high street hit Osso Buco[s] in 2011, owner Elena Vahedi and her husband ventured into more trendy, casual eating territory in the same location with this equally popular Italian, born in 2018. “Top pizza” of the wood-fired variety (and wonderful pasta too) has earned it a real local following.

This quartet of modern pasta joints offer “high-quality ingredients” and staff who “make you feel very welcome”. But the cooking divides opinion sharply, with some reporters praising “good, unpretentious” cooking “at a fair price” and others complaining of “tiny, overpriced helpings – avoid!”. A more nuanced judgement: “good but could be so much better – menu had some great options but everything seemed overpowered with butter/oil”.

“Creative Italian pasta and fish dishes are beautifully prepared and served in a charming atmosphere just off Chiswick High Road”, in the former premises of Michael Nadra (RIP). This little pasta bar is “a relatively recent addition – but with L’Amorosa gone from down the road, the area needed a new high-quality local Italian… and now it’s here!”.

2024 Review: “Lovely fresh seafood” and “excellent pasta dishes” – everything “brimming with flavour” – have won an enthusiastic welcome for this “new Italian run by a very experienced team” in Turnham Green. Founders Ben and Michael have worked together for more than 20 years, running an independent restaurant in Italy and in five-star hotels.

“An unusual level of excellence for the unglamorous Askew Road” – this “local favourite with an ambitious glint in its eye” turns out “beautiful food from a monthly changing menu in a small bistro-style space”; and was responsible for a number of Hammersmith residents’ best meals of the year. It’s on a site that for decades was Adams (RIP) – “I was sad to see the owners of Adams retire but it was a delight to find Giulia Quaglia open up this stunning Italian restaurant in what is now called Askew Village”, serving “wonderful food” cooked by her partner, Endris Kerbisi (the couple met when working together at the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge). Top Menu Tip – “the octopus starter is a real joy”.

“Quirky” little Neapolitan deli on a dead cute corner near the Thames, whose tented pavement tables are a magnet for passers-by at weekends. “Okay, it’s not hugely comfortable and a little crowded (it’s really just a little corner shop) but who cares?” – its “traditional dishes to eat in or takeaway” (think filling pasta and creamy cakes) are very highly rated by its fans and add to its “memorable” appeal. And “they really seem to take pleasure in looking after you in just the way you want to be looked after”.