L’Antipasto City

£23 - £28 / Italian, Vegetarian options

2-4, Octave House, 2 Botolph Alley, London

Opening hours

11:30AM-9:30PM

Sunday Closed
Monday 11:30AM-9:30PM
Tuesday 11:30AM-9:30PM
Wednesday 11:30AM-9:30PM
Thursday 11:30AM-9:30PM
Friday 11:30AM-9:30PM
Saturday Closed

Hidden Gem: Delicious Italian Fare in London

Tucked away in a charmingly unassuming alley, this cozy eatery might just teleport you directly to Italy without the need for passport stamps. Stepping inside, you'd be forgiven for momentarily forgetting you're deep within the hustle and bustle of London. It's an intimate space where the gentle hum of sizzling pans and the genial chitchat of staff trickles alongside your wine—an exemplary Italian spread that inches you one bolder shade deeper into culinary paradise. But oh, the food! Readers with even a modest acquaintance with the concept of dish-and-glory affairs will find solace here; it's not just a plate of linguine they're pushing—they're cradling art.

Our ventures from the festive realm of pizza crusts to the sublime terrains of pasta carte were more than satisfactory; they edged on illustrious. The wild boar spaghetti did a tango with taste buds, while the seafood linguine splashed them in fresher flavors than an Amalfian breeze. But the ally to such triumph were not just the gleeful dishes but also those cherubic servers, welcoming you as though into their family trattoria, not unlike hospitable relatives you wish you'd conjured up years ago. Alas, I find myself stewing with vague envy at the seats yet to thrill future guests. One skips out, then plans sherpas to return—and if you squint just right, you can almost see absconded reservations skipping away down London's alleys like delicious apparitions. Bravo! — Penelope Savory