Nipotina is an Italian neighbourhood restaurant in Mayfair, serving nostalgic family cooking in an inviting setting. Nipotina is another venture by culinary mastermind Samyukta Nair, the restaurateur behind Michelin-starred Jamavar and Mimi Mei Fair just around the corner. Turning her hand to Italian fare, Nipotina brings casual Italian dining to Mayfair, although there is a luxurious Italian black truffle menu too. With the kitchen headed up by Turin-born chef Somaia Hammad, Nipotina is all about comforting, family-taught cooking: its name, meaning ‘granddaughter’ in Italian, reflects the warmth of its approach.
The menu features unfussy, family-style cooking. Lighter antipasti dishes include a fresh fennel and rocket salad, with orange, fava and pecorino; tuna, sea bream, and salmon carpaccio; bruschetta with porcini and wild mushrooms; and ‘fegatini di pollo’ - chicken livers served with balsamic and potato gateau.
Onto the primi selection, and there’s a choice of pastas which include orecchiette with anchovies, rapini, garlic and chilli; ragu with mafalde pasta made according to Hammad’s grandmother’s recipe; and triangoli filled with lobster and doused in a spicy red vodka sauce. More substantial secondi offerings include a Livornese-style roasted red mullet with capers, lemon, Leccino olives, parsley and tomatoes, and Bistecca alla Fiorentina - the traditionally Tuscan T-Bone sharing steak, cooked till rare and served fresh off the grill.
There are also wood-fired pizzas on offer, as well as ‘Nonna Lina’s ricotta tart’ - a dessert named after Hammad’s own grandmother.
The impressive wine list (thanks to the efforts of Italian wine aficionado Luca Dusi) is entirely Italian, and sourced from small, artisanal wine producers across Italy - the product of Dusi’s encyclopaedic knowledge of Italian wine producers. A selection of Italian liqueurs and cocktails are also on offer, including the Nipotina negroni - a unique aromatic blend of liqueurs, served by the ladle from a clay amphora.