Italian Restaurants in Charing Cross
1. San Carlo Cicchetti
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
30 Wellington St - WC2
“Don’t be put off by the tourist location or the gold frontage” if you visit the flagship branch of this successful Italian chain near Piccadilly Circus (which is due to double in size over 2023). For a national group, it and its siblings deliver a surprisingly high-quality formula that mixes “a great range of Venetian-style small plates” with “friendly and efficient” service and “bright and vibrant interiors” which create a “wonderful and buzzing atmosphere”. Top Tip – “super for pre-theatre eating”.
2. San Carlo
Italian restaurant in St James
2 Regent Street Saint James's - SW1Y
“The warmth of the welcome and quality of the food can come as something of a surprise at such a central and well-known location” as this West End branch (just north of Pall Mall) of the national group, created by Sicilian-born Carlo Distefano and now with over 20 locations nationwide. Perhaps it’s the “lovely atmosphere for either a business or social lunch or dinner” that’s its key strength, but all reports suggest the “great and varied menu” is also “consistently good”.
3. Opera Tavern
Spanish restaurant in Covent Garden
23 Catherine Street - WC2
“Handily located near the Royal Opera House”, this converted pub serves Spanish and Italian-style small plates of “food that’s just a bit better than its local competition” in the heart of Covent Garden. It is “not the best of the Salt Yard chain, but good for a quick pre-show meal”.
4. San Carlo Cicchetti
Italian restaurant in Piccadilly
215 Piccadilly - W1
“Don’t be put off by the tourist location or the gold frontage” if you visit the flagship branch of this successful Italian chain near Piccadilly Circus (which is due to double in size over 2023). For a national group, it and its siblings deliver a surprisingly high-quality formula that mixes “a great range of Venetian-style small plates” with “friendly and efficient” service and “bright and vibrant interiors” which create a “wonderful and buzzing atmosphere”. Top Tip – “super for pre-theatre eating”.
5. Bancone
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
39 William IV Street - WC2N
“Elevating accessible pasta to another level” and “at fair prices” has won a huge fan club for these pasta pit-stops, which – in July 2023 – added a Borough Yards location to their outlets in Soho and off Trafalgar Square. It’s the “narrow” WC2 branch that’s best known, and, despite the weight of custom, “helpful staff do their best” and it delivers “lots of atmosphere”. The food rating dipped this year, though, due to a few refuseniks who say “it used to be good, but is becoming a victim of its own success”. Executive Chef Ben Waugh creates all new dishes and ensures the classics are still on the menu, such as Fazzoletti (silk handkerchiefs) with confit egg yolk and walnut butter. There is also an aperitivi and cicchetti bar.
6. Fumo
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
37 St Martin's Lane - WC2
The “beautiful setting” and “elegant small sharing plates of tapas-like cicchetti” make this “great spot” from the San Carlo group “perfect for pre- or post-Coliseum dining” and it inspires uniformly positive feedback from a big and diverse fan base.
7. Ave Mario
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
15 Henrietta Street - WC2E
“We all loved it – especially the kids”, is the most popular view of this vast and OTT mock-Italian operation in Covent Garden from French group Big Mamma, whose “funky interior, fun staff and really positive vibe” create a jolly backdrop to some “surprisingly good and cheaply priced food” – mainly pizza and pasta. Moaning “shame about the Instagramming teenagers” rather misses the point of the whole enterprise, although the odd ‘off’ report suggests that the joke can fall flat on a bad day – “indifferent service, a quiet atmosphere and disappointing grub: what went wrong? They had something but blew it!”.
8. The Petersham
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
1 Floral Court, off Floral St - WC2E
“One of the prettiest restaurants in London – charmingly tucked away in Floral Court, Covent Garden” – this is the in-town offshoot of the famous Richmond plant nursery, and in fact houses two establishments – “La Goccia is the better of the two” (see also). There’s “a lovely atmosphere in this light and bright room – it’s the sort of place you might take your rich aunt to for lunch”. The food, though, is “not especially memorable” and “weirdly expensive for average fare”.
9. Al Duca
Italian restaurant in St James's
4-5 Duke of York St - SW1
“Very well-presented Italian food” and “an atmosphere quiet enough for conversation” make this straightforward trattoria on a corner site in St James’s a useful and reasonably priced option in an expensive part of town.
10. La Goccia
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
Floral Court, off Floral Street - WC2E
“It’s lovely to sit at the outside tables in the summer” in the “beautiful courtyard” of Covent Garden’s Floral Court, dining on “interesting small plates” of Italian food – “albeit on the expensive side” – at the central London offshoot from the well-known Petersham Nurseries in Richmond. It’s just “great for a girls’ day lunch or dinner”.
11. VyTA
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
21 The Market - WC2E
2022 Review: In the heart of tourist Covent Garden – on the corner of the market itself, near The Punch & Judy pub – this large (200-seat) Italian arrived in late 2019. It’s the first venture outside Italy for Nicolo Marzotti, who has 13 restaurants back home. The jury is still out on whether or not it transcends its tourist trap location (including some seating on a balcony over the main market square).
12. Bocca di Lupo
Italian restaurant in Soho
12 Archer St - W1
“Jacob Kenedy’s terrific Italian restaurant in the heart of the West End hasn’t lost its edge in 15-plus years” (est. 2008) and is one of the most popular London destinations in our annual diners’ poll. It serves “inspired, regional-Italian dishes” – “lots of interesting choices from an original, constantly-changing, seasonal menu” – all at notably “sensible prices”. “The sommelier will assist you to navigate a marvellous Italian list and introduce you to some new wines; and service generally is both professional yet very friendly”. Many diners “prefer sitting at the counter” watching the chefs to the “more formal” tables at the back, “but you always get a good meal either way”. “It is deafeningly loud, but that’s the price you pay for such a buzzy atmosphere”. Top Tip – “wonderful ice cream shop opposite which they also own”.
13. Rossopomodoro
Pizza restaurant in Covent Garden
50-52 Monmouth St - WC2
2021 Review: “Neapolitan influences are evident in the choice of ingredients, and the wood-burning oven makes for good, chewy, charred crusts, unlike most high-street pizzas” – so say fans of this global chain, whose HQ is indeed in Naples. Not everyone is impressed, though, and ratings are dragged down by those who feel it’s merely an “everyday” choice: “OK for a bog-standard group, but not great”.
14. Il Vicolo
Italian restaurant in St James's
3-4 Crown Passage - SW1
Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, this “family-owned Italian restaurant” has long seemed refreshingly down to earth for somewhere hidden in an alleyway in posh St James’s: with its “simple Calabrian menu and good service”, it’s “especially good for lunch”. As with many other central places, it has “appeared considerably more expensive” of late – perhaps they are saving up for a move to new premises: a relaunch a few doors down from its old site scheduled for September 2023.
15. Mele e Pere
Italian restaurant in Soho
46 Brewer Street - W1
This “authentic Italian vermuteria” (they make their own vermouths) in the heart of Soho was founded 12 years ago by three brothers from northern Italy, and offers enjoyable cooking from their homeland, including “a great choice of pasta” and “the crispiest pizza ever – delicious!”
16. Café Murano
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
36 Tavistock St - WC2
“Reliably good Italian food at fair prices” and particularly “switched-on service” won revitalised support this year for Angela Hartnett’s “very serviceable” mini-chain, which is generally a “very safe choice”, and – at its best – “memorable” in the level of “very confident” cooking it can achieve. Even fans, though, concede the “atmosphere can be a bit low key”, in particular at the “rather gloomy” WC2 branch (and the best reports are at St James’s).
17. Café Murano Pastificio
Italian restaurant in Covent Garden
Pastificio, 34 Tavistock Street - WC2E
“Reliably good Italian food at fair prices” and particularly “switched-on service” won revitalised support this year for Angela Hartnett’s “very serviceable” mini-chain, which is generally a “very safe choice”, and – at its best – “memorable” in the level of “very confident” cooking it can achieve. Even fans, though, concede the “atmosphere can be a bit low key”, in particular at the “rather gloomy” WC2 branch (and the best reports are at St James’s).
18. Bar Italia
Italian restaurant in Soho
22 Frith St - W1
This “Soho institution” stands for “tradition and location”, offering “the best coffee 24/7” along with “the most atmospheric counter seating in London”. Founded in 1949 by the Polledri family, who still own it, it is a rare survivor of Soho’s once-thriving Italian community.
19. Bancone
Italian restaurant in Soho
10 Lower James Street - W1F
“Elevating accessible pasta to another level” and “at fair prices” has won a huge fan club for these pasta pit-stops, which – in July 2023 – added a Borough Yards location to their outlets in Soho and off Trafalgar Square. It’s the “narrow” WC2 branch that’s best known, and, despite the weight of custom, “helpful staff do their best” and it delivers “lots of atmosphere”. The food rating dipped this year, though, due to a few refuseniks who say “it used to be good, but is becoming a victim of its own success”.
20. Monmouth Kitchen
restaurant in Camden
20 Mercer St - WC2H
“A good find for a pre-theatre meal” – this “efficient and friendly” Covent Garden dining room is quite stylish for somewhere inside a modern chain hotel, and serves an offbeat mix of Peruvian and Italian dishes: “a great selection”, with “lots of small-plate choices and interesting combinations” – “just enough to choose easily and all delicious”.
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