Southwark, Italian Restaurant Guide

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”.

2021 Review: Gordon Ramsay’s “Italian-leaning” warehouse conversion in Southwark, with an indoor ‘olive grove’ complete with trees, pleases some with its “giant portions of great food” and “fantastic cocktails”. Far too many reporters this year, though, complain of a “sterile” aspect to its “industrial” decor, and dismiss the fare as mightily “uninspired”.

“Take your pick and follow your street-food taste buds” at these “vibrant and buzzy food halls, with a huge variety of pop-up vendors”. Launched 10 years ago at Milan’s World Expo, the concept reached London in 2016 with the opening of the first MM in an old paper factory near Elephant & Castle; a deconsecrated Mayfair church came next, followed by Wood Wharf in Canary Wharf and then Ilford in summer 2024 – in each case fostering a “great community spirit”.

“No-one, and I mean no-one who I’ve taken here, has ever said a bad word; and moreover, many have returned separately. It’s my No. 1 ‘go-to’ for casual dining with friends, whose subsequent advocacy says it all!” – Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda struck gold with this “constantly busy” duo of superior pasta pitstops, which are rightly famous on social media and one of London’s ultimate cheap eats. They offer “the best fresh pasta” (which you can watch being made through the windows from early morning on) “at great value prices, which is why they are sooo popular: why you must book well in advance in EC2” or expect to queue in SE1 (“which operates an effective virtual queuing system”).

“Delicious pasta at relatively affordable prices” inspires major loyalty to these “busy” pasta pitstops in Soho, near Trafalgar Square and in Borough Yards: for their legions of fans, “a staple option for a quick meal in London”, even if “the narrow WC2 branch in particular is tight for space and can feel a little crowded and noisy”. The experience, though, can tip into just feeling “rushed”, “unimpressive” or “hyped”, not least due to the “hit ’n’ miss service”. Top Menu Tips – “obviously the ‘silk handkerchiefs’ are best”; “Cacio Pepe is like you’ll never find outside Rome at an unbelievable price”.