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”.

“A tiny nondescript frontage” north of Smithfield Market hides this “deceptively large” and “classy” Italian – a sibling (though you would never know it) of The Clove Club (see also). You enter through the “very convivial” bar (where they serve “a stunning set business lunch”) to enter “a spacious environment” including “a romantic hidden back terrace”. The cuisine is “sensational old school Italian cooking”: “classic dishes are elevated by the clever use of subtle flavours” and there’s “a beautifully-put together wine list (a not cheap, but interesting selection)”. Top Menu Tip – “worth it for the Parmesan churros, or the homemade Limoncello”.

“Shocking news when Russell Norman died” in November 2023 – his legacy remains this “buzzy, brilliant Italian trattoria in the City of London” that was his “homage to hearty Tuscan food” and which is now run by his widow Jules and son Ollie. Perhaps it’s “a bit too cramped for comfort” and there’s “loud, thumpy music”, but most diners feel “it just gets everything right”. “It’s hard to get a table, but with Negronis at £5...who is surprised?”. The food is “not stellar, but fine-to-good” and – importantly – also generous and comforting (as exemplified by its best known dishes the ‘Bistecca alla Fiorentina’ and its ‘Coccoli’ – cuddles – of deep fried dough with soft cheese and prosciutto). “Cosy, cute and very romantic, go there for any occasion… but with a date it’s even better!”

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!”