A fabulous friendly Italian” trumpets a fan of Sarracino, which has been serving the good folk of West Hampstead since 2004. The cooking covers all the usual trattoria staples, with a few fresh additions along the way – note the carefully sourced buffalo mozzarella and Puglian burrata, as well as starters such as tuna carpaccio or bresaola with roasted red peppers and roasted goats’ cheese. Mains also keep it familiar but interesting – think ‘square’ spaghetti with lobster, grilled calf’s liver with gnocchi, crispy onions and balsamic vinegar or roast fillet of sea bass in a potato and courgette crust. We’d also suggest checking out the list of weekly specials such as octopus salad with fennel, orange and rocket or pan-fried veal chop in white wine with aubergines, oyster mushrooms and truffle oil, as well as the rum baba with crème patisserie and Morello cherry syrup. There are plenty of Italian wines to accompany the food, and Sarracino also does takeaways.