For many of us – wherever in the world we have grown up – Italian is the first foreign cuisine we encounter when eating out. Unless, of course, one has grown up in Italy eating Italian cuisine, but ‘Italian’ hardly does justice to over 2,000 years of cooking heritage that differs wildly not only from the Alps to the Adriatic, but from one village to the next. Here, then, is our guide to the best Italian restaurants in London, where you’ll find everything from perfect pizza and small-plates pasta to regional specialities and traditional four-course blow-outs.
