Paesan translated is a friendly greeting for your friend, buddy, homeboy…read more Keeping that traditon, Paesan near to Exmouth Market, is a fun, easy pasta spot with exposed brick and filamented lightbulbs, run by a friendly crew of Italians who will make you feel right at home. The upstairs is a corner view onto a street with dark woods and leather booths, while inside an open kitchen and a low-key young crew is putting out some simple, tasty food. Mostly appetizers, pastas and some pesce and carne dishes. Not a destination, but a good spot and one of the few restaurants on the street open on a Sunday. The downstairs basement hosts a cocktail bar that was closed on the Sunday we visited. We enjoyed the feel of the place, along with a bit of montepulciano d'abruzzo, some olives, a green salad, pork belly and a toothsome risotto with zucchini and prawns. Not a bad meal, priced pretty well, and a nice setting with friendly staff. We had such a good time that we failed to notice the police inspectress inside talking to the Paesan crew. The white and red police tape line both inside and outside the restaurant were in our peripheral view the whole dinner, but once outside, we noticed that a gigantic police triangle of tape took up the entire street corner, a female inspector was stationed there, and that down on the cobblestone sidewalk, a streetful of dessicated lemon and lime wedges lay from the night before, leading us to ponder, what exactly had happened here?

This is my new favourite restaurant!…read more The restaurant used to be the Dollar burger restaurant, and has been revamped as an Italian artisan place with free bread and olive oil, big bottle of tap water and Arcoroc glasses for everything. The specials all sounded fantastic but I plumped for dandelion salad and the pumpkin and goats cheese pizza. Utterly yummy! Not excessive portions just packed with flavour. The waitress was helpful and calm and the red wine warm and fruity. I'll come again for definites. There is a cocktail bar in the basement and a choice of some interesting sharing options on the main menu for groups. Prices are very reasonable and if my meal was anything to go by, the rest will be as good. I am well impressed.

Oh my what a happy accident! Flew to London on last minute…read morebusiness. Met w Associates from Dubai and Australia. We had planned on going to a gem down the way but they were booked. Bilal had remembered an area nearby and we walked there. It was a rainy one and legging it was nice only because the rain mercifully slowed for a few minutes. We smelled something great. Walked for a bit and all three of us looked at each other and said... Let's go back to the wonderful smell! So glad we did. Our server spoke w Mo in Italian and was so sweet. The items are very reasonably priced. Check out the pics. All food was gone!

Oh my gosh -- this was genuinely the worst restaurant experience I've ever had in the UK…read more We politely mentioned that we didn't enjoy one of the pasta dishes and simply requested a small modification. Instead of trying to resolve the issue professionally, the owner became extremely rude and dismissive. Shockingly, he brought us the bill immediately, refused to serve the rest of the items we had already ordered (including the tiramisu), and directly asked us to leave the restaurant. We were calm and respectful throughout the interaction, but he refused to even listen to our side before abruptly ending the conversation with, "I'll get your bill," and telling us to leave. I honestly don't know whether he was irritated because we had an infant with us or because we requested a modification, but the behaviour was completely unacceptable and deeply disappointing. I still can't believe a restaurant in London could treat customers this way. Truly unbelievable service and an experience I would never want anyone else to go through. We initially ordered 3 items. The pizza was absolutely fine, so we never raised any concern about it. However, the pasta simply didn't suit our taste buds, so we politely requested a few alterations. Instead of handling it professionally, you refused to serve the tiramisu as well -- assuming we'd dislike that too and ask for modifications? Honestly, I wish I had taken a picture of the pasta to show how it looked. As a restaurant owner, you should understand that every customer has different taste preferences. And just for clarification -- we never asked for the pasta to be cancelled. In fact, we were even willing to pack it and take it home after paying for it, despite not liking the taste. You were the one who offered to cancel the remaining order, and we simply agreed. I would humbly request whoever is in charge to please check the CCTV footage and see whether we were ever rude while requesting alterations. Throughout the interaction, you only kept speaking from your side and didn't even give my wife a chance to explain. Is that really what good customer service looks like?

One day I am going to ring up and book a table under the pseudonym Tony Soprano!…read more I swear to god this place is stuffed full of maffiosi and you have to be one to get in. All attempts to book a table thus far have met with a "sorry we are fully booked" and trademark Italian silence. All that despite the fact this place looks closed 100% of the time. Oh well ... who knows. A slice of Sicilia in Clerkenwell :) Gotta love old school mafia.

If you can get a table here then you know you are a successful business man because this place is…read morethe best in town for Italian food just like mama made

This is a little, quant restaurant located in an alley, a few steps from Eastcheap Street, where…read moreEastcheap Records is located.We were able to sit outside because it was lovely this day. The service was great, our server was very kind and patient to explain everything to us. We even were able to change my friend's order after ordering because I walked inside to look at the specials menu, so we changed her order to Lobster Ravioli (not pictured here). The garlic bread came fast and had the appearance of a personal pizza. It is EXTREMELY fresh garlic forward, like it is going to sit with you for hours, the server will absolutely warn you about this but it is damn good. Our food came after we completed our bread and was very good. The Veal Milanese was tender and crunchy. The penne noodles with marinara sauce was a great side to this dish. Not pictured because it was too good, the lobster ravioli looked creamy and decadent. If you want to know how good, my fried ordered two servings. Overall this was a fabulous meal, this was some of the best Italian food I've had in my life. I will absolutely seek them out on my next trip to London so here's to hoping they are open for many, many years to come!

This hidden gem had the most luscious fresh pasta and sauce. I had the aubergine ravioli with…read moretomato sauce and savored every bite. The bruschetta was light and flavorful. The chocolate brownie with coconut gelato was the perfect ending. We appreciated the friendly, gracious service and the casual atmosphere of dining outside in the quiet narrow street. Highly recommend.

This little Italian place in Covent Garden treats you like family. We found based on popular Yelp…read morereviews and made reservations. The cafe is tiny, with maybe a dozen tables inside and another dozen on an enclosed patio. The place is dripping with Old World charm right down to the deli counter. We sat inside in a cozy corner table. Tables are so close that you get to know your neighboring guests. In our case, the neighbors were regulars and gave us some menu tips. We laughed and visited. The servers are all friendly. We had several people serve us. Water came quickly as did our wine and beer. For dinner, I had the Oak Smoked Salmon Salad. The salmon was delicious and plentiful. The capers were salty and exquisite. I loved the gently pickled onions. I was given olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dress the salad as I wanted. My husband had the Gnocchi "nduja" which was spicy and delicious. We also enjoyed the Garlic Bread which was a stone fire cooked flatbread. I'd return and highly recommend.

Amazing food of great quality, staff and service. We had a Cuban god give us great suggestions of…read moreoptions to order and delicious wines.. We've been in London for a week and have eaten there twice..

Overpriced for the portion size. Wonderful flavors (ravioli)…read moreWas kind of loud. Great atmosphere

Traveling from the USA for 2 days for work…read more Recommended to this place by our consigliere at the Westin. Was so good we ate here 2 nights in a row. Paula our server was incredible, attentive, and very personable! Highly recommended establishment!

Ordered both the papardelle with ragu and the fettucine with cobble lane cured anduja. The…read morefettucine was my favorite pasta I've ever had!! Just an incredible restaurant experience. Service was also so kind and attentive.

Solid pasta but not unique flavors. - Like the parpadelle…read morewith ragu. - Bruschetta was excellent. Very affordable and delicious wine by the glass. The seats by the bar is a bit uncomfortable - too close to the bar and your legs are squeezed between the bags and coats hanging under the counter. Toward the latter part of lunch, they open the door wide and it was cold.

Great Italian food, lovely decor and brilliant service. Highly recommended. A good selection of…read morewine.

With a name meaning Song of the Raven and its twinkling, beckoning lights, Canto Corvino should be…read morea stand out in the little gastro nook that is Spitalfields. It's also basically on my street and one of the few sit downs open on weekends! However, each of my visits yielded a variable experience, meaning the quality consistency is lacking which means I wouldn't recommend it to a good friend. Not a good thing when it comes to lesser known restaurants. My first time, I was drawn in by the golden lights radiating from the bar and the warehouse lighting which looks almost chic when paired with the exposed brick and glass embellishments. Although my boss and I were the only ones here, the staff paid little to no attention to us - no greeting or any mind paid to us until we physically walked over the bar, distracting the group chatting away in their huddle. The wine was on the pricier side. The second time I came, the place was brimming with city brokers having Thirsty Thursday. The prosecco was decent and we had a nice time. Until we got the bill for the 3 shots of tequila we had which totalled £48. So that's over 15 pounds for each shot...when we queried the bill, the staff explained that the quality of the tequila he poured us explained the cost, exasperated with our stupidity. We said we were not going to pay for that just because when asked what kind, we had probably said "whatever" or "doesn't matter". Doesn't that usually mean house stuff? The third time I had post-birthday party brunch here where I opted for the Italian breakfast which means eggs, soppresetta, sour dough with pate?, tomato, and tuscan sausage. My tastebuds were (to be fair) taking a beating due to the hangover but it was just mediocre at best. Plus the stuff on the sour dough was strange and unpleasant. Canto and I are neighbours and I don't give up on my neighbours.

Recently (within the past month) whilst on a vacation in London, we were recommended to eat at this…read morewonderful Italian restaurant near our hotel. What a delight. The family who owns this restaurant are adorable! We ate here twice in our 10 day stay and had different dishes each time. The fettuccine alfredo is wonderful. The arribiatta sauce is especially (and appropriately) spicy. I even asked if they could "make" me a cesar salad, and they did their best to come up with something spectacular! The restaurant is in close walking distance to The British Museum and between the Russell Square and Holborn tube stations. It's always nice to go to a restaurant where the owner fusses about the tables ensuring that everyone is enjoying the food. Also, there is a piano player who is outstanding and she played classics to Disney to show tunes. It was wonderful!!

Our hotel was in the same block as this restaurant and we sort of stumbled across it while looking…read morefor dinner. We were reading the menu posted outside the door when we were greeted by one of the employees (I think he was "family") and then we were also greeted by an older gentleman who appeared to be the owner. We decided to give it a try. The lady waiting on us was very nice (also appeared to be family) and service was excellent. BTW - they have live music with a piano player. My wife had the spaghetti with bolanagese sauce and it was truly exceptional. I had the lasagna (my "go to" Italian dish) and it was also delicious. Great little restaurant. Cozy interior, live music, great food and great friendly service.