Dalla

Before opening Dalla, chef Mitchell Damota built his reputation at East London wine bar P. Franco, known for its rotating chef residencies. He joined forces with Gianmarco Leone, previously at Claridges, and Gennaro Leone, owner of furniture showroom Spazio Leone, and between them the trio have created a neighbourhood restaurant of beauty and conviviality. Seasonality sits at the centre of the restaurant's approach, with menus shaped not just by ingredient availability but by the regional cooking styles of Italy throughout the year. Winter dishes lean towards richer, more northern Italian influences, while summer menus shift towards lighter southern Italian cooking, with vegetables and seafood taking a more prominent role. The menu follows the traditional Italian structure of antipasti, primi, secondi and sides, with dishes changing regularly. Desserts and cakes are displayed in a vitrine outside the kitchen, with tiramisu remaining a permanent fixture alongside a rotating cheese offering. Be aware, tables of six guests have a £60 per person minimum spend (before service charge).

Opened in November 2023, this neighbourhood Italian in Hackney puts the emphasis on home-style cooking with a little transatlantic input from the partly Canadian heritage of the chef. You'll need to head over to Instagram if you want to see a menu in advance, but rolling up and taking pot luck works quite well – how about red mullet crudo with sea purslane and tomato dressing. The decor is as simple as can be (creamy white walls, small café-style tables), while the food puts on little in the way of airs and graces. A cuttlefish and chickpea salad won over a first-timer a treat (the bread handy for mopping up the dressing), while a trio of anchovy and tomato fritters was big on crisp, well-seasoned umami. Classic Italian 'primi' and 'secondi' are rendered with impressive panache, as in perfectly formed, delicate ravioli of nettle and ricotta strewn with pine nuts, or a jade-green wild garlic risotto enriched with squacquerone soft cheese. Away from pasta, also expect the likes of lamb chop and belly with wild mint and roasted potatoes, while a chunky side dish of quartered marinated tomatoes in olive oil and basil is reliably worth a punt. A serving of snow-white ricotta flooded with saba grape syrup is a more enterprising way of finishing, if perchance the fabled tiramisu has sold out. There are pedigree Italian wines to accompany.