Discover the finest of Italy by visiting fashion-forward eateries selling Milanese specialities, historic trattorias providing Sicilian favourites, or casual pizzerias. Find and reserve the top Italian restaurants in the United Kingdom. London’s Italian restaurant industry is as diverse as the food-loving country, from old-school trattorias to small new-wave plates and the most excellent handmade pasta. These are the most amazing Italian restaurants in London, whether you prefer fresh antipasto, bowls of hot risotto, meaty ragu, or drunken tiramisu. Pull up a seat for an aperitivo, seek out a secluded illuminated nook, or reserve a large table for a family feast. For more Italian inspiration, check out our list of the top Italian Restaurants in Trafalgar Square.
Italian Restaurants Trafalgar Square – Top 10 Italian Eateries
1. Artusi
This authentic Italian is probably the most excellent neighborhood restaurant you can imagine: clever yet low-key; hip but not pompous; and excellent value despite its high quality.
Or a short, market-driven blackboard menu with continuously changing seasonal delicacies like crispy ox tongue, roasted sprouts with handmade ricotta and hazelnuts, and leg of lamb with bagna cauda borlotti beans, and kale.
2. Noci
Noci may be new to the London restaurant industry. Still, head chef Louis Korovilas is no stranger to the pasta scene, having worked at Bancone and Michelin-starred Locanda Locatelli.
His latest endeavor is a buzzy neighborhood eating place on Islington Green, where friends, couples, and coworkers congregate around tables piled high with Sicilian street food and fresh pasta. Starters are not an afterthought to the big event here. The creamy burrata is enveloped in sliced petals of zingy beetroot, and the nduja arancini have a bite. Still, the leek, walnut, taleggio, and gorgonzola torta fritta – oozy with a nutty crunch – is a standout.
3. Bocca Di Lupo
At Jacob Kenedy’s enduringly renowned Soho Italian, the energy is as vital as the cuisine. Dine at the bar, and you’ll have a good time – especially if you sit by the window and watch celebrities glide into the raucous dining room.
The menu often changes to highlight the finest of regional artisan cooking in various ways, while tempting drinks and superb all-Italian wines also create an impression. The Sicilian Workers Lunch is our favorite: £12.50 for a starter, main course.
4. Campania & Jones
This little cafe on a cobblestone corner just off Columbia Road is a neighborhood favorite. Inside, exposed brick walls, wicker lampshades, a wood-burning fire, hanging dried flowers, candlelight tables, and dishes served on handmade ceramics from Nom, a local pottery company.
Campania’s menu features a blend of homemade classic and contemporary hearty Southern Italian cuisine. Menus change daily based on fresh and available, but a few famous constants are the hearty pappardelle ragu and the cheesy gnudi dumplings steeped in butter and sage.
5. Emilia’s Crafted Pasta
Emilia’s cute-as-a-button pasta master is doing what Franco Manca accomplished for pizzas for Italy’s other carb of choice. The seven-dish menu lets the quality of the ingredients speak for themselves.
The pasta is produced on-site each morning and topped with things like fish carbonara, simple pesto, or slow-cooked, béchamel-laced ragù. Antipasti, Dolci, and budget-friendly wines round out the menu. A second branch is in Aldgate, while a third is in Canary Wharf.
6. Pizzeria Mozza
California’s dough queen Nancy Silverton is widely considered one of the top chefs in the world, and her Michelin-starred flagship restaurant, Osteria Mozza, landed her a position on Netflix’s Chef’s Table.
Her first London location is on the ground floor of the friendly Treehouse Hotel on Regent’s Street. Trailing vines and terracotta floor tiles provide a Mediterranean touch to the area. Still, the Italian flavor is as genuine as it gets – the team sourced furniture from all around Italy, including handcrafted glass lighting from Venice and iron chairs from Milan.
7. Flour & Grape
Passers-by are drawn inside this Bermondsey pasta expert by a window displaying plates of handmade ravioli. The menu is modest and inexpensive (about eight items), the pasta is commendably al dente, and the flavours shine.
F&G does not accept reservations and has a fixed 90-minute time window, but the lines continue to form.
8. Fiume
Fiume, a buzzy and contemporary Italian restaurant near Battersea Power Station’s riverside, is from D&D London (the bread arrives fresh from its bakery). Industrial-themed furnishings in brown and brassy tones flow out onto a foliage-clad terrace overlooking the Thames.
An undeniably lovely setting in the evenings, complete with fairy lights and calming river activity. Fiume is not your usual neighborhood trattoria, featuring a menu devised by Francesco Mazzei (behind Mayfair’s Sartoria and Radici in Islington). The chef has given ancient classics a new lease of life while also branching out to more Mediterranean meals, which are now hard-baked into Londoners’ menu expectations.
9. Lardo
Charcuterie is a specialty that is appropriate for a restaurant named after the cured back fat of a pig: try the exquisite, paper-thin fennel-pollen salami.
Crisp-based pizzas with out-of-the-box artisan toppings, as well as veggie plates and handmade fresh pasta, are highlights. Sit at the bar and observe the cooks while they prepare your order.
10. Canto Corvino
Andrew and Ninai Zarach, who run the two Manicomio restaurants in Chelsea and St Paul’s, used to scout for top-tier Italian goods to import, but this is new terrain for them.
Head chef Tom Salt (occasionally seen in the open-plan kitchen) has modernised the Italian food without going overboard. The menu is concise and small-plate-y, but the main course should choose. A shared slab of four-colours-pink seafood restaurant Crudo – slivers of king prawn, sea bass, salmon, and mullet – will go in seconds, maybe followed closely by delicate twists of duck Tortelli studded with borlotti beans and sausage pieces.
Conclusion
London’s Italian food scene is on point, from high-end restaurants like The River Cafe and Luca to more affordable but delicious neighbourhood places like Artusi and Marcella and everyone’s favourite one-stop pasta shop Padella. A word of caution: just because a restaurant is no longer on the list doesn’t mean it’s not still fantastic. Above guide on Italian Restaurants in Trafalgar Square will help you choosing the best dining place for you.
