Clerkenwell , Italian Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: This “very authentic Italian local” has been filling happy bellies in Exmouth Market for more than 20 years, with Neapolitan pizzas, pastas and other dishes – “nothing too refined, but plenty of choice and not expensive”. The only complaint: “some options are just too big and hearty”.

You walk past “chiller meat displays” as you enter Roberto Costa’s Italian group. Macellaio means ‘butcher’, and the focus is on quality steaks, particularly the Piemontese Fassona breed, but also including cuts from the UK (from Herefordshire) and with tomahawk and Halal options; all matched with an “extensive wine list”. “For a great and reasonable dinner (including pre-theatre) and excellent steaks” it does still have fans. But its support has waned in both quality and quantity in recent years, and the group has halved in size since the last edition, shedding branches in Bloomsbury, Borough and Clapham (all RIP) to focus on Theatreland/Soho, Exmouth Market and the South Kensington original. All of the (relatively few) reports say the food is still mostly good but increasingly there are caveats: “Hmmm, the steaks are getting pretty… not bad, but no longer as good value”. Top Menu Tip – the “dessert theatre of tiramisu created at the table”.

“Stylish and discrete” captures the appeal of Daniel Willis & Johnny Smith’s successful “favourite” north of Smithfield Market (which severed its ties this year from Clove Club owner, Isaac McHale). A handsome front bar, pretty glazed rear terrace (“if you can get a seat here, you are in a little idyll”), and elegant spaces in-between provide a comfortable backdrop to “dish after dish of gorgeous and inventive modern Italian cooking” – “the food quality is nailed-on if pricey” – and “there’s a balanced Italian wine list to complement things”, introduced by “a great sommelier team”. Top Menu Tip – “best Lemon Tart in town”.

“Beautiful, ‘ugly’ food just as Norman wanted” – Russell Norman’s family are doing full justice to his legacy at the genius trattoria he opened near Smithfield Market just a couple of years before his death in November 2023. “Noisy, intimate, dark, sexy, fab” – it combines “memorable Tuscan fare and vibe” all in one go, all at an incredibly approachable price considering. “Equally good for date night or a business lunch too”: it’s “always fun to visit, just bursting with stuff you simply want to eat”, and – vitally – “they understand the food has to be good but it’s the whole experience that counts”. (“Can’t wait to go back and often” – “It’s my new favourite when I’m craving pasta… unfortunately it seems to be a favourite for many other people too!”). Top Tips – “The £5 Negronis are just as amazing as advertised as well as the penne vodka and sausages”. “No matter how many times you eat it, the rabbit pasta is delicious”. “The tiramisu is still amazing”.

2023 Review: After successful pop-ups in Bristol and Notting Hill, this plant-based artisan pasta venture moved into its first permanent site in late 2021 (provocatively, perhaps, just off Smithfield meat market). Early reports are all positive – “I didn’t even realise it was vegan!”