Il Bistrotto - London — Restaurant in London

First time here and did not know it is relatively new. Lovely setting and staff were all very friendly and welcoming.

You can sit outside when the weather is lovely. I didn't read the reviews prior to booking until after but found one quite harsh so I am happy to share my experience.

Prices for the dishes are fair as you are in Chelsea. They are Tapas style but actually plate sizes are not as small as tapas so for 2 normal not big eaters, 4 dishes would have been more than enough (we had 4 dishes + Focaccia) so we were a little full but not stuffed. We tried the signature dish small Focaccia with cheese, very tasty although for a non-Italian, i did not know that is a focaccia, i would call describe it as like a thin pastry with cheese. The small size is quite big like a square pizza so it is perfect to try for 4 people if you want to try other dishes.

All the classics were very good even my green beans salad with feta cheese and almonds and heirloom tomato salad were fresh.

We also had vitello tonnato and grilled octopus. They were all very high quality. Grilled octopus was very tender.

I would recommend people having a try if you are in the area, I would say it is on par with the neighboring Italian restaurants both of which i have been.

Sorry photos were taken as an afterthought not quite instragrammable but hope it gives the reader an idea of size...

The place is undoubtedly in a nice area and offers a good atmosphere. The staff is really nice and definitely treats you well. The food is ok, nothing extraordinary, the focaccia di recco (with cheese) was a bit dry, the friend calamari were good. Bear in mind this is a tapas place, all the portions are VERY tiny and the choice isn’t so broad, you only have a few dishes to choose from, and again, very small portions, so if you want to choose it for an aperitivo, then it works, not so much for dinner.

(A bit of a long wait for cocktails, maybe we were just unlucky on that one, but waiting up to 15 minutes for a cocktail seemed a bit too much).

Overall, as long as you treat the place more like a pre dinner aperitivo kind of place,...

All blue and buzzy, Il Bistrotto is a vibe. The focaccia al formaggio is unreal, and the regularly changing menu keeps things exciting — everything we’ve tried on several visits has been consistently spot on. The team are warm and genuinely attentive. The cocktail and spirits list is fantastic, and you could just as easily swing by for a drink at the bar (something London needs more of) as settle in for a full Italian feast. Il Bistrotto is one of those places that just...