After living in Italy for nearly two decades, I’m hyperaware of its influence wherever I travel. Few countries have left such a broad imprint on the world, shaping art, architecture, food, design and everyday life for centuries. I spot traces of Italy everywhere I go, whether that’s in a grand civic building, neighborhood café or museum gallery.
So during a recent month-long stay in London, a city with a large and longstanding Italian community, I never felt far from home. From Neapolitan pizza and contemporary Italian cooking to Renaissance masterpieces, Palladian villas and Sicilian-inspired interiors, these are my favorite places to experience Italy in London.
Eat & Drink
London has an incredible global food scene and, with its large Italian community, Italian food and wine are everywhere. From contemporary Neapolitan pizza and traditional coffee bars to cozy enoteche and more, there are so many places to choose from. These are a few places that transported me straight back to Italy.
Passione Vino
The Italy Edit contributor Genevieve Verdigel introduced me to Passione Vino and I am so grateful she did! The minute I stepped inside, I felt completely at home. Shelves packed with bottles cover nearly every available surface, while a lively mix of regulars gathers around the communal tables. Founder Luca Dusi works directly with small, independent producers throughout Italy, highlighting native grapes and lesser-known appellations alongside familiar names. The original location is in Shoreditch, with a second outpost in Exmouth Market.
Bar Italia
Walking into Bar Italia feels like entering a time warp that will transport you straight to Trastevere — nostalgic memorabilia, metal pavement tables and all. First opened by Lou and Caterina Polledri in 1949, this narrow café occupies some seriously good real estate in the heart of Soho and became a gathering place for London’s Italian community. More than 75 years later, it remains in the same family and little has changed. Mirrored walls line the long counter, red leather stools fill the compact interior and football often plays on television. Order anything from a cappuccino or spritz to a Crodino and light bites.
Napoli on the Road
Michele Pascarella began selling pizza from a three-wheeled Ape Piaggio before opening the first Napoli on the Road in Chiswick. Born near Naples, he fuses Neapolitan tradition with more contemporary toppings, all served on a light, airy crust with a satisfying chew. Pascarella was named the world’s best pizza maker by 50 Top Pizza in 2023 and continues to innovate. I got to try Napoli on the Road’s new pizza tasting menu (the first in the UK) and it was excellent, especially the Cheesewick topped with four Italian cheeses, Blue Stilton and tomato jam. There are now locations in Chiswick, Richmond and Soho.
Alba Caffè
Located inside Whitechapel Gallery, Alba Caffè is a cozy independent café run by Phoebe Hunt, a travel journalist and Florence expert whom I had the pleasure of meeting in London. This cute café serves specialty coffee alongside a menu with “Italian-ish” influences on focaccia sandwiches, seasonal salads, soups and Italian-inspired cakes. On Thursday evenings, Alba stays open alongside the gallery’s late hours, hosting rotating chef pop-ups and serving natural wine and spritzes.
Bar Termini
Although it borrows its name from Rome’s central station (a place that inspires mixed opinions), Bar Termini offers a far more polished experience on Old Compton Street. Its menu focuses on Negronis, which are pre-batched and bottled to allow the flavors to develop, alongside a small selection of other cocktails and, of course, espresso. With only 25 seats, the intimate bar fills quickly, so arrive early or reserve a table during peak hours.
Mezzogiorno by Francesco Mazzei
If you’re looking for something more upscale, Mezzogiorno inside Corinthia London came highly recommended by one of my Italian friends in London. Calabrian-born chef Francesco Mazzei leads the kitchen, with a menu focused on the food of Calabria, Puglia and Sicily. Expect handmade pasta, seasonal produce and plenty of bold southern Italian flavors. Many of the dishes come from Mazzei’s family recipes and are great for sharing. The elegant dining room has warm terracotta tones and an open kitchen, making it a good choice for a long lunch or special dinner.
La Tua Pasta
After more than a decade documenting the recipes and culinary traditions of Italian nonne, British food writer Vicky Bennison (whom I had the pleasure of interviewing a few years ago) and her Pasta Grannies team have launched a pasta collection with London artisan producer La Tua Pasta. Developed from an archive of nearly 600 grandmothers’ recipes, the range includes orecchiette and ravioloni filled with stracciatella, zucchini and lemon. The pasta can be ordered online, while La Tua Pasta also has a popular stand at Borough Market.
Osteria Locatelli at the National Gallery
Just like Italian food, Italian art abounds in London, and one of the best places to see it is The National Gallery. After taking in masterpieces by Caravaggio, Botticelli and Raphael, grab a table at Osteria Locatelli, Giorgio Locatelli’s buzzy new all-day restaurant serving seasonal antipasti, homemade pasta and other Italian favorites. Art plays an important role here: the menu changes every three months, often in response to the Gallery’s major exhibitions. This summer, La Spritzeria served artist-inspired cocktails, from a bittersweet Caravaggio to a bright, citrus-led Canaletto. This fall, Giorgio will create a special menu to accompany an upcoming exhibition, Renoir and Love, opening October 3.
Art and Culture
The National Gallery, mentioned above, is an obvious starting point for Italian art in London. But Italy’s influence extends far beyond Renaissance masterpieces. These museums offer everything from romantic views of Venice to Futurist paintings and British visions of Rome.
The Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection is a true jewel in Marylebone. Set inside historic Hertford House, its romantic rooms are filled with paintings, porcelain, decorative arts and elaborate furniture. The experience feels a little like opening a box of chocolates: there is something beautiful and unexpected around every corner. Its Italian highlights include one of the finest collections of Venetian vedute, or city views, with works by Canaletto, Guardi and artists from their circles.
Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
Not all of Italy’s most important art dates from the Renaissance. The Estorick Collection, set within a Georgian townhouse, is Britain’s only gallery devoted entirely to modern Italian art, with works spanning the 1890s to the 1950s. Its collection is particularly known for Futurism — the radical early twentieth-century movement that embraced speed, technology and the energy of modern life. You can also find figurative painting and sculpture, providing a broader look at a period of Italian art that can be surprisingly difficult to find outside the country.
Tate Britain
Everyone seems to wax poetic about Tate Modern, but don’t overlook Tate Britain. The museum has an excellent collection of British art, including several rooms dedicated to J.M.W. Turner. The London-born painter first traveled to Italy in 1819 and the country became one of his enduring subjects, appearing in idealized scenes of Rome, Venice and Orvieto filled with glowing light and atmospheric color.
The Cast Courts at the V&A
The Cast Courts at the Victoria and Albert Museum bring some of Italy’s greatest monuments together under one roof — or at least extraordinary reproductions of them! Created in the nineteenth century so artists and students could study European masterpieces without traveling abroad, the galleries contain plaster casts of Michelangelo’s David, Trajan’s Column and Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise. The soaring galleries were designed to accommodate monumental casts, though Trajan’s Column (nearly 115 feet tall in Rome) is displayed in two sections.
Sir John Soane’s Museum
The former home of Sir John Soane, the celebrated architect behind the Bank of England and Dulwich Picture Gallery, is one of London’s most unusual museums. Soane filled the labyrinthine house with antiquities, architectural fragments, Roman urns, paintings and models, turning nearly every surface into part of the display. His time studying and traveling in Italy had a lasting influence on his work, particularly his fascination with ancient Rome and the ruins at Paestum.
Italian-Inspired Villas and Gardens
Syon House
As a huge Bridgerton fan, I was thrilled to visit Syon House and its magnificent glass Great Conservatory, both of which have appeared onscreen. But it is the interior that will really transport you to Italy. After studying in Rome, architect Robert Adam reimagined the rooms as a palace of Greco-Roman splendor, complete with classical columns, patterned marble floors and bronze sculptures by Roman artist Luigi Valadier, including a replica of The Dying Gaul. It feels like ancient Rome reimagined through an eighteenth-century British lens.
Leighton House
Walking along Kensington’s elegant streets, you would never guess the treasure hidden inside Leighton House, the former home of English painter Frederic Leighton. Its extraordinary Arab Hall is lined with tiles collected in Syria and centered around a small fountain inspired by houses in Cairo. Leighton was also inspired by Sicily’s Arab-Norman heritage: the gold mosaics reference Palermo’s Cappella Palatina and La Zisa palace, while the mosaic pieces were produced in Venice.
Chiswick House
Farther west, Chiswick House is one of England’s finest examples of neo-Palladian architecture. Lord Burlington designed the villa after returning from his Grand Tours of Italy, taking inspiration from the work of Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. Built between 1726 and 1729, the house helped popularize Palladian architecture throughout Britain. Its grounds also include a semicircular Italian Garden laid out in front of the conservatory in the early nineteenth century.
Italian Gardens
Italy’s influence on London extends outdoors too. The Italian Gardens in Kensington Gardens were created in the 1860s as a gift from Prince Albert to Queen Victoria, inspired by the gardens at their summer home on the Isle of Wight. At Hampton Court, Charles I once created a simple Italianate Privy Garden for his classical statues, although the garden visitors see today recreates William III’s later Baroque design. And in Twickenham, York House Gardens contains a wonderfully theatrical Italian-style fountain of marble sea nymphs and horses that wouldn’t look out of place at the Reggia di Caserta.
