Pizza and pasta restaurants continue to flourish in the capital, here are some of the top new openings
Dough-nt settle for anything than the best pizza and pasta.
1. Hai Cenato
2 Sir Simon Milton Square, SW1E 5DJ
Victoria’s new Nova development is now open, housing over a dozen restaurants, including Hai Cenato, an Italian from globetrotting chef Jason Atherton. The Pollen Street Social and Berners Tavern owner will serve up a wide selection of thin-crust pizzas as well as Italian classics. It opened yesterday: get in there before the crowds inevitably come. haicenato.co.uk
2. L’antica Pizzeria da Michele
125 Stoke Newington Church St, N16 0UH
Stoke Newington gets an authentic taste of Naples with this first UK outpost of a restaurant empire that dates back to 1870. Expect queues aplenty for these rustic, no-frills, sparsely toppinged discs of Italian goodness, dubbed by some the best pizzas in the world. damichele.net
3. Greenwood
170 Victoria Street, SW1E 5LB
Another new opening in the Nova development, this one is a more laid-back affair than Hai Cenato (and that’s already pretty laid back). It’s not strictly speaking an Italian, but it will furnish you with fine pizza. greenwoodlondon.com
4. Luca
88 St John St, EC1M 4EH
Isaac McHale, the chef behind the superflous Clove Club, sets his sights on Italian cuisine for his second opening. Its pasta is as good as any you’ll find on the Amalfi Coast, it has a wonderful wine-list, there’s a slight twist from the use of British ingredients: it makes you wonder if the best new Italian restaurant might just be owned by a bloke from Glasgow. luca.restaurant
5. The Beautiful Pizza Boy
182 Bellenden Road, SE15 4BW
Peckham must have fired some kind of a pizzeria flare gun into the sky, because in the last few months an unlikely number of them have appeared out of thin air. The most ridiculously named of this plucky slew of newcomers is The Beautiful Pizza Boy, whose take on wood-fired ‘za is Naples-pleasingly traditional. Though if you’re after something a little different, their mussels and white wine pizza is sure to elate, and potentially confuse, your disbelieving tastebuds. thebeautifulpizzaboy.london
6. Mod Pizza
17-18 Irving Street, WC2H 7AT
With 179 locations in the United States already, this American pizzeria chain first arrived on British soil in June of last year when it opened a venue in Leeds. Feeling suitably welcomed by our northern friends, Mod Pizza’s doughy fingers have since inserted themselves into every corner of the country. The latest opening hits central London, offering totally customisable pizzas that you piece together from a selection of more than 30 toppings. modpizza.co.uk
7. Tank & Paddle
3 Mincing Lane, EC3R 7AA
A late-opening City hideout serving artisanal pizzas (served on paddles) and a selection of craft beers (poured from tanks), Tank & Paddle is ideal for those weary evenings when you just want to eat something off a plank. They do nightly special offers here too, so swing by on a Monday if you want a five pound pizza, or on Tuesdays for a two pound pint. tankandpaddle.co.uk