Letzi private en-suite Near Wembley

The team behind two of West London’s best pubs, The Pelican and The Hero, appear to be just as adept at opening restaurants. The two chefs are alumni of The River Café and it shows in their no-nonsense, flavour-driven Italian food. The menu is a loosely structured document, but you can use the price as a rough guide to the size of the dish. Highlights include the likes of rich ox cheek with polenta and the homemade pasta dishes such as ravioli filled with courgette and nasturtium. They don't take bookings, so be prepared for a queue, but the lovely service team handle it well.

The former head office of car manufacturer The Rootes Group is perhaps not where you’d expect to find an Italian restaurant, but Ladbroke Hall is no ordinary venue. Located at the top of Ladbroke Grove, it’s a restored Edwardian building that is now a haven for artistic types, holding exhibitions, workshops and music events within its century-old walls. The cooking is textbook Italian, with an ingredient-led simplicity and terrific homemade pastas such as spinach and mozzarella tortellini.

‘For Lesley, By Daniel’ is the tagline of this endearing neighbourhood restaurant inspired by the owner’s late sister and named in honour of their childhood escapades that would always start with “don’t tell dad”. Situated in the heart of bustling Queen’s Park, there’s a lovely vintage feel to the place, which also operates as a bakery during the day. Start with snacks such as the moreish truffle and cheddar beignets, before considering hearty sharing mains such as wing rib of beef with bone marrow butter. Ensure you save room for the freshly baked madeleines to finish too.

There’s an authentic, honest feel to this small Italian neighbourhood restaurant. The eponymous owner Giulia can be seen chatting away to guests in her native language and offering great hospitality alongside the cooking. Her partner Endris is in the kitchen following the ethos of pure, ingredient-led cooking with a seasonal focus. Pasta is offered as a separate course, including classic dishes like spaghetti alle vongole. The wine list is sensibly priced and, unsurprisingly, all Italian.

This is a tale of our times: a chef creates a large fanbase by giving cooking demos on TikTok during lockdown and then opens a small restaurant in Notting Hill so that they can come and experience his cooking first-hand. It’s a very likeable place, with no frills, easy-to-eat cooking that’s modern British by way of Italy; always start by ordering one of the flatbreads – and the sweetbreads are always a good bet too. Low intervention wines are a feature.

‘Fire, wine, vinyl’ it says outside this cool Notting Hill spot – and that pretty much sums it up. The sharing plates benefit from the kitchen’s skill at cooking over an open fire – don’t miss the black carrot with sea urchin sauce; wines are varied and well chosen; and downstairs a DJ delves deep into a diverse album collection. Come with friends for a fun night out.

Italian