For a good Italian restaurant in London, look past the chains to kitchens with a clear idea of what they cook. Murano in Mayfair and Cantinetta Antinori off Sloane Street suit a polished meal. Manteca, Tiella Trattoria and Osteria Angelina cook pasta-led menus with a point of view. Burro sits in a quiet Covent Garden courtyard, and Pappagone serves wood-fired pizza in Finsbury Park.
The short list
7 places, in the order they appear below.
- 1MuranoSet lunch, weekly pasta, risottoMayfair
- 2Cantinetta AntinoriBistecca for two, family winesOff Sloane Street
- 3MantecaPork skin ragu at the counterCurtain Road
- 4Tiella TrattoriaSunday lunch, seasonal pastaColumbia Road
- 5Osteria AngelinaItalian pasta with Japanese techniqueOff Blossom Street
- 6BurroTerrace lunch, fresh pastaCovent Garden
- 7PappagoneWood-fired pizza, weekend cannoliFinsbury Park
Where do Londoners book for a polished Italian dinner?
For a dressed-up Italian meal in London, our two picks are Murano on Queen Street in Mayfair and Cantinetta Antinori just off Sloane Street. Both take regional Italian cooking seriously and lean on Italian wine, but the two rooms feel quite different. Murano is warm and unhurried. The Antinori townhouse stays open all day and has live jazz every evening.
Angela Hartnett’s restaurant has been a steady Mayfair address for over a decade. The kitchen cooks seasonal northern Italian food, and the service feels personal. Pasta is made in-house and changes weekly. The risottos are simple, and better for it. Ask the sommelier to pick a regional Italian half bottle from producers outside the usual retail network.
Murano
Hours: Mon–Thu 12:00–14:30, 18:00–22:00 · Fri–Sat 12:00–15:00, 18:30–22:00 · Sun closed
Address: 20 Queen St, London W1J 5PP
The Florentine wine family’s London outpost fills a three-floor townhouse on Harriet Street. The menu stays close to the original cantinetta: thick ribollita, thyme guinea fowl, and tiramisu spooned from a very large bowl. The bistecca Fiorentina is carved at the table and sized for two (three is better). Order it two days ahead when you book so the kitchen can source the right cut. For value, nothing on the list beats the family’s own Chianti Classico by the carafe.
Cantinetta Antinori
Hours: Mon–Fri 12:00–15:00, 18:00–22:30 · Sat–Sun 12:00–16:00, 18:00–22:30
Address: 4 Harriet St, London SW1X 9JR
Where to eat fresh pasta in East London?
Most of the pasta-first cooking on our list is in East London. Manteca on Curtain Road rolls pasta to order at a salumeria counter. On Columbia Road, Tiella Trattoria has turned a Victorian pub into a neighbourhood room with a seasonal menu. Osteria Angelina, near Blossom Street, brings Japanese technique to Italian cooking. All three make their own pasta.
Chris Leach and David Carter built Manteca around a front counter hung with cured meats, with a wood-burning hearth at the back. The cooking is Italian with a British accent. Fazzoletti might come with brown crab, and the pork skin ragu uses whole animals butchered on site. That ragu is the dish to order. If there are two of you, sit at the counter facing the kitchen: the team will talk you through the menu while they make the pasta.
Manteca
Hours: Mon 12:00–15:00, 17:30–22:00 · Tue–Wed 12:00–15:00, 17:30–22:30 · Thu–Fri 12:00–15:00, 17:30–23:00 · Sat 12:00–15:00, 17:00–23:00 · Sun 12:00–15:00, 17:00–22:00
Address: 49-51 Curtain Rd, London EC2A 3PT
At Tiella Trattoria, the menu takes a focused line on Italian regional food instead of trying to cover all of it. On Sunday mornings Columbia Road fills with flower stalls. Sunday lunch is the hardest sitting to get, so book as soon as slots open. The wine list is natural and Italian, and the staff know it well enough to steer you through it.
Tiella Trattoria
Hours: Mon–Wed 17:30–22:00 · Thu–Fri 12:00–15:00, 17:30–22:00 · Sat 12:00–14:30, 17:30–22:00 · Sun 12:00–16:00
Address: 109 Columbia Rd, London E2 7RL
Osteria Angelina comes from the team behind Angelina in Dalston. Its style is Itameshi, the Italian tradition of absorbing Japanese technique and produce. Pasta might arrive with dashi instead of stock, and the fritto includes nori. It feels younger than the original and more built around the counter. The weekly pasta shows most clearly how the kitchen thinks. For a first visit, the lunch set is better value.
Osteria Angelina
Hours: Mon 17:15–21:45 · Tue–Wed 12:00–14:45, 17:15–21:45 · Thu–Fri 12:00–14:45, 17:15–22:30 · Sat 12:00–15:00, 17:15–22:30 · Sun 12:00–15:00, 17:15–21:30
Address: 1, Nicholls Clarke Yard, London E1 6SH
Is there a quiet Italian restaurant in Covent Garden?
Yes. Burro sits in Floral Court, a courtyard off Floral Street that most Covent Garden crowds walk straight past. In warm weather the terrace is a calm place for lunch in a busy neighbourhood. Inside, the room mixes an Irish country kitchen with a fifties Italian bistro. The cooking leans on butter, which is what the name means.
Conor Gadd opened Burro after years cooking at Trullo. Pasta is made fresh every day, and the vitello al burro is a veal Milanese fried and finished in butter. Alongside it, the menu carries fettuccine tossed with a ragu of duck and porcini. Terrace tables go first, so ask for one when you book.
Burro
Hours: Mon–Sat 12:30–15:00, 17:30–22:30 · Sun 12:30–15:00, 17:30–21:30
Address: Unit 2, Floral Court, Floral St, London WC2E 9FB, UK
Where can you find an old-school Italian trattoria in London?
For honest trattoria cooking that aims only to feed people well, go to Pappagone on Stroud Green Road in Finsbury Park. The family business has fed the neighbourhood for decades, often several generations of the same families. Expect wood-fired pizza and pasta in generous portions. It has no interest in being fashionable. That’s the point.
Start with the Margherita. If they get that right, the rest of the menu will follow. The cannoli is made in-house and only appears at weekends, a good reason to come on a Saturday or Sunday.
Pappagone
Hours: Mon–Thu 12:00–23:00 · Fri–Sat 12:00–00:00 · Sun 12:00–23:00
Address: 131 Stroud Green Rd, Finsbury Park, London N4 3PX
Which Italian restaurant in London suits which occasion?
Pick the restaurant to fit the meal. For a polished dinner, go to Murano or Cantinetta Antinori. If you want to watch pasta being made, sit at Manteca’s counter. Book Burro’s terrace for a sunny lunch. Tiella or Pappagone suit a relaxed neighbourhood evening, and Osteria Angelina is where Italian and Japanese cooking meet. The table gives the area for each and the strongest reason to go.
Our picks are spread across the city, so pair each one with its own neighbourhood instead of crossing London for a single meal. Book ahead at weekends and for any table you have your heart set on, like Burro’s terrace or Tiella’s Sunday lunch. Several kitchens close between lunch and dinner. The opening times differ from one restaurant to the next, and each place card above lists them in full.
