Fitzroy Wine Cellar & Kitchen — Restaurant in London

The sort of place you don’t think really exists in London anymore: a chic little restaurant, with wonderful food, great wine, down a side street that most people don't know about and you can just wander in and get a table, without having to wait or book weeks in advance, and that might not even be that busy at lunchtime so you can hang out and drink wine all afternoon, or sit outside in the sun and not get hassled by anyone or drowned out by the traffic. It’s the type of place you think you only find in Paris or Rome. Because in London anywhere remotely good usually becomes an over-crowded over-heated nightmare within a week.

it immediately makes you feel relaxed AND excited to be eating out. As soon as you walk in, the manager (who is SUPER charming) and the lovely cook (in her open kitchen to the left) both make you feel like you've been going there for years.

The menu is great: I particularly like the idea - instead of 'starters' - the 'small plates to share'. There are a few standards like: Rocket Salad (£5.70p) and Buffala Mozzarella (£9) but are mostly more original without being pretentious and all sound like something you want to try, like: 'Meatballs in Spicy Calabrian Ndujo' (£8.40p), ‘Crispy Pork Belly Bites Served With Chutney and Black Garlic Mayo’ (£9), and 'Bruschetta With Wild Mushrooms & Truffle (£8.40) - the most delicious piece of toast i've ever eaten. For the main courses we had: an amazing seafood risotto (£16.80, pictured) 'Calamarata Pasta with Clams and Asparagus' (15.80) and a pricey but classic 'Fritto Misto' with calamari, prawns & zucchini (20.40p). The meat-eater's choice was more limited - 'Tagliatelle with Tuscan Sausage' (£12) and irresistible 'Slow Roasted Pork with Rosemary Sweet Potato' (£16.80p).

For anyone who loves Italian food, the dishes were imaginative without being over-elaborate; not too heavy; and prepared & presented by the chef and manager with real care and enthusiasm. The friendliness of the staff and the quality of the food means it has the vibe of a local Parisian bistro or 'casa della nonna' trattoria in Rome or Florence that once you've discovered it, you want to come back to tomorrow and every week.

On top of all this, as the name suggests, the selection of wines is exceptional - so appealing that you could happily go there and just drink without even eating too.

Dare of visit: 05/05/2022

Value...

Updated 12 December: Went last night (11 Dec 2018) for the first time in ages and was massively disappointed by the service. Took forever to get somebody's attention to order anything. I gave up on an initial drinks order and went straight for food as other people around us were complaining about the lack of service and wait times. The couple next to us went and helped themselves to the menu and wine list when none was forthcoming after 10 minutes of them waiting. Looked like there were 3 staff working the floor but only 1 actually doing anything (none of the staff were the owner/manager I have interacted with on all previous occasions). When we finally manged to flag down somebody for the bill, they tried to charge us for truffle risotto when they has told us at the start of our meal that they were all out of truffle for the day. Were this my first time here I doubt I'd be back based on last night's experience. However, the food was still very tasty.

I've been here a couple of times now. It's a great little place with tasty pasta dishes and a decent wine list. The owner/manager is friendly and accommodating. The carbonara...

Went there for a team dinner. The good things. The waiter was amazingly attentive. He noticed one of our party hadn't placed an order and came back to ask. Loved the starter. I did a sharing with 3 of my colleagues. We ordered different starters and shared. Mine was the bruschetta. Portion was generous . My colleagues who had the Saute du Mare could have used a spoon. Their verdict was it was an okay dish. I had the seabass fillet Alla mediterranea. I would have enjoyed it more if they had scaled it better. A few mouthfuls were not so pleasent. Most of the group had pasta. I didn't hear any complaining. We had desert but I was honestly so full my judgement is probably biased. I had the mint Panna Cotta. I think it's a flavour I personally wouldn't add to a Panna Cotta. Texture was fine though. A few had the cantuccini and they enjoyed the process of dipping into the wine and it made it's way to those who hadn't ordered it to try. Some had tiramisu but forgot to ask how they found it. Overall a good evening. A few minor details which made me rate it 4 instead of...