What happens when a Brooklyn city attitude meets the flavour and dedication to classic ingredients found across Venice, Naples, Rome and beyond? Italian-American restaurants are staking their claim on London, and there are more of them around than you might think. From pizzas dripping in mozzarella and iconic cheese pulls, to rich pasta on deep plates, Italian-American food made its way across America thanks to the culinary traditions of Southern Italian immigrants, and ever since has been a testament to regional heritage. So where can you visit an Italian-American restaurant in London?
For Incredible Pizzas
Ria's Notting Hill
29 All Saints Rd, London W11 1HE
If you're a sucker for branding and quality combined (much like us), it's somewhere like Ria's that you need to have on your radar. Light peach walls, dusty blues and untreated furniture are set alongside a menu of natural wines and Detroit-style pizza. Made using slowly fermented 'Wildfarmed' flour, the end result for a slice (or whole pizza) at Ria's is both chewy and light combined (try the pepperoni & soppressata at £22 a pie). More great dinner decisions can be made here too, with hot honey drizzles and parmesan cream available as extras, rounding off a truly charming experience.
Ria's Notting Hill will have you salivating from the off.
Alley Cats
22 Paddington St, London W1U 5QY
You're headed to the Big Apple on a trip to Alley Cats, where the Marylebone restaurant (just off the main high street) is lit up in a scalloped emerald green frontage. With 14-inch 'pies' to hand, this New York-style pizzeria has all you'd expect from an Italian-American, completed with gingham table tops and a short but niche menu. Meatballs? Kick your meal off with them at just £9 alongside the must-try candied bacon.
Brooklyn Pizza Crew
683 Fulham Rd, London SW6 5PZ
Italian-American can be enjoyed both at home and IRL when you've got a brand like Brooklyn Pizza Crew nearby. Dedicated to bigger-than-big pies, both Fulham and Notting Hill postcodes are catered for with slices that will have you coming back for more. Celebrating Brooklyn's pizza scene, go from 12" to 20", with toppings promising true classics, including buffalo mozzarella and Italian sausage. If it ain't broke, don't fix it we say.
For Unmissable Pasta
Taking Italian-American to higher heights is Carlotta in Marylebone.
Carlotta
78 Marylebone High St, London W1U 5JX
It's larger-than-life restaurant group Big Mamma that you have to thank for an Italian-American experience on overdrive (think the likes of Jacuzzi and Gloria). With chef Armando at the helm, using recipes from his very own nonna, Carlotta pays homage to Italian travellers but celebrates local ingredients. When you're not admiring the rich velvet red of the rooms, try the raviolo ai tre formaggi. Caramelle-shaped pasta comes stuffed with gorgonzola and ricotta in a Parmigiano Reggiano cream, perfect for any pasta-obsessed patron, while echoing the rich simplicity of Italian American plates.
Grasso
81 Dean St, London W1D 3SW
We're down for restaurants with unrivalled personalities, and Grasso is bringing it in waves. On everyone's lips at the moment, with a recent feature in The Standard, this is a place to have fun and celebrate the vibrancy of Italian-American food in all its glory. From the massive meatballs and the penne alla vodka to the big spritzes, go for a plate and stay for the night.
Photo Credit: Good Brew Inc (Grasso)
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