London doesn't exactly lack Italian restaurants, but when it comes to actually good ones, well, that's another story. Not to sound like the most demanding of European expats, but since relocating to the British capital from Italy in 2020, I have only ever found a very few eateries able to replicate the balance of flavorsomeness, freshness, and essential simplicity that serves as the grounding principle of Italian cuisine. Even today, I can count them on the fingers of one hand, and Locatelli at the National Gallery, the recently inaugurated restaurant Michelin-starred Italian chef Giorgio Locatelli co-founded with his wife Plaxy, has just become one of them.
Launched early last month to coincide with the grand reopening of the museum's Sainsbury Wing, which gained a sleek, bright, and dynamic new look following a two-year, £85mn restoration led by Selldorf Architects and a thorough rehang of its 300-piece painting collection, Locatelli at the National Gallery has instantly earned itself a mention in the next instalment of my curated edit of the best restaurants in London. Just like it's the harmonious fusion of different ingredients that makes a plate, this, too, is down to multiple reasons.
