Food – Studio Libraries

My Favorite Places To Eat In London

*The Victoria Pub in Paddington, London*

I lived in London for about a year and have also visited it plenty of times throughout the years, so I got to know a lot of places to eat in different areas of the city. I am not a huge fan of British cuisine, but I love English breakfast and having a Sunday brunch so I am also going to mention a couple of places where you can enjoy an excellent breakfast.

The last time I was in London was right before the pandemic and I hope to be back soon to visit some friends, especially my dear friend Jigna, an eyebrow guru who works in Mayfair (where one of my favorite restaurants is located). I would also like to try some other restaurants in the city, so I added them to my Google Chrome favorites as a reminder for when I return to the UK.

Here below you will find my favorite places to eat in London (since I am Italian, most of the places are offering authentic Italian cuisine).

*Eating pizza at 50 Kalò di Ciro Salvo, The Strand, London*

1) 50 Kalò di Ciro Salvo Pizzeria: this is one of the best places in London to eat pizza. Having already opened a restaurant in Naples in 2014, they opened a place in London in the summer of 2018. Their name originates from the interpretation of dreams; according to the Neapolitan tradition, 50 represents bread (or dough) and Kalò means “good” in the ancient language of pizza-makers. The dough is made with accurately selected flours blend, to which is added a large percentage of water to create a pizza whose ingredients taste deliciously good. Ciro Salvo is part of a renowned family’s third generation of master pizza-makers and has been recognized as one of the best in his field by food critics, both in Italy and abroad. While his pizzeria in Naples was among the six ones included in Italy’s Michelin guide, his London restaurant has been named Best Italian Pizzeria in London for Gambero Rosso in 2019, the same year I visited the place. It is located in Westminster’s Strand, an area known for its restaurants, hotels and legendary theaters like the Savoy. I love eating at 50 Kalò because the atmosphere is cozy and familiar, and if you are Italian you will definitely feel at home.

7 Northumberland Ave, Westminster, London WC2N 5BY, UK , open every day from 12.00 to 11 pm.

Rigatoni alla Caprese - Carluccio's. — Rigatoni alla Caprese – Carluccio’s, South Kensington, London

2) Carluccio’s Italian Restaurant in South Kensington: Carluccio’s has various restaurants around London and in other UK cities, but my absolute favorite is the one in South Kensington, one of the neighborhoods in London I love the most. Located near the Tube station, it focuses on Italian cuisine, with dishes ranging from pasta to risotto that reflect the authenticity of Italian flavors.

My TOP FIVE Favorite Foods

I was born in Italy and whenever I talk to my foreign friends about my country I hear them say “Italian food! So delicious!” (ok, some of them think about Italian fashion too, but they are usually citing food more).

I was very picky with food while growing up, mainly because I didn’t like the cafeteria food during my primary school years, so I usually ended up eating pasta and that would be all. There’s definitely been some improvement over the years, in the sense that I am more open to trying new food, even foreign cuisines (I didn’t eat sushi until I was probably twenty). What has changed is that I am now interested in cooking (I won’t go so far as to affirm I am a cook myself, but I like experimenting with new recipes which I am planning to share online too).

Nonetheless, most of my favorite foods I have been enjoying since I was a teenager so I have rounded up five foods that are still my favorite; a couple of them may be defined guilty pleasures but I think everyone can eat what they want in moderation!

1) Pizza: my parents love to reminisce about the first time I tasted pizza when I was about five years old and we stopped at a restaurant on the road during a long car journey. I have been loving pizza for ages; since a few years ago I used to eat all-white pizza because I wasn’t a fan of tomato. I have recently started eating tomato on pizza (and on pasta for some dishes, even though no meat sauce or tomato salad for me!) and Pizza Margherita is the one I usually go for. Neapolitan pizza is probably the best, even though I enjoy eating New York pizza when I’m in the States; I usually go to John’s of Times Square or Bleecker Street Pizza and the tomato sauce they use is so good!

Best Neapolitan pizza in Milan is probably Gino Sorbillo, along with Rosso Pomodoro. I was in Bergamo last year and I got to eat at Mòrso; you can eat outside in the spring/summer season, their pizza is great and they also have a fine selection of beers.

Once I also tried a very original pizza at AmaMi in Milan and I especially recommend it for a night out with friends. Ugo, one of our family friends, used to own an Italian restaurant in Antibes, France, and his place was one of the best for authentic Italian food in the French Riviera; it was located near the port of Antibes and was originally called Le Moulin.

Pizza Margherita. — Pizza – Mòrso restaurant, Bergamo, Italy

Pizza - AmaMi. — Pizza – AmaMi restaurant, Milan, Italy

I first attempted to make Nutella braids with my mother a few months ago, when she found the recipe on ricettealvolo.it, an Italian food blog which has a huge collection of recipes to try.

I am mainly interested in learning to cook desserts, probably because I have a sweet tooth, but I would also like to add my own recipes from family traditions in the upcoming months.

I think cooking is a fascinating activity and it can strengthen the bond among family members; I love to chat with my stepmother whenever I am visiting her and my father as we cook together (she cooks and I look at her cooking is more likely). Her recipes often have a Venetian touch, due to her being from North-East Italy, while my mother has her own cooking portfolio which has been highly influenced by Southern Italy (my grandparents were from Calabria). I love discovering cooking traditions from different parts of Italy (or even the world, as my stepmother loves Thai food, having been to Thailand multiple times), so I hope to expand my cooking knowledge and share a variety of recipes on this blog.
As for Nutella braids, in Italy we call them “torciglioni alla Nutella”, which basically means the same thing in Italian; what follows is a translation of the recipe from Ricettealvolo that explains the different steps to prepare them.

Nutella Puff Pastry Torciglioni are very easy puff pastry treats filled with hazelnut cream that can effortlessly be prepared in 10 minutes.

A couple of years ago I came across the red velvet cake recipe on Instagram and became very interested in trying it myself.

I got some help from my mother; I am still learning in the kitchen and she is definitely a better cook than I am!

What follows is basically a translation from the original recipe on the Chiarapassion food blog; if some of you can read and understand Italian I recommend looking at her website for food recipes and inspirations, otherwise you can follow my article, as I tried to recreate it.

The Red Velvet Bundle is a simplified version of the classic Red Velvet Cake recipe created by Enrica Panariello on Chiarapassion.com; it is a red-colored cake which is perfect to celebrate Christmas, Valentine’s Day and other special occasions.

Compared to the classic version, there is the advantage of not having to prepare three separate bases to be filled with the cream, in fact thanks to the bundt cake mold it immediately becomes beautiful.

To make it, after preparing the buttermilk with yogurt, lemon and milk, all you have to do is mix the dry ingredients in one bowl (it is important to sift the flour) and the liquid ones in another, then combine the two compounds without mixing too much…and then off to the oven!

You can serve it au-naturel with a simple dusting of powdered sugar so that its red color is not revealed until you cut the slice, otherwise you can accompany it with mascarpone cream.

To get a nice red color, Enrica suggested using professional dye from Decora but the Wilton one is very good, too!

THE RECIPE:

Cooking time : 45-50 minutes

Portions: 10 people

Category: Food

My Favorite Places To Eat In London

My TOP FIVE Favorite Foods

Nutella Braids(Torciglioni Nutella) From Ricette Al Volo

Red Velvet Bundle From Chiarapassion (Enrica Panariello)