True fans of real Italian food are always on the lookout for those authentic, little places - the kind that aren't too flashy, celebrate simple, fresh ingredients and have years of history behind them. Well, we've found such a spot in Paddington; Taormina Restaurant, which has been serving up its family's recipes in London since 1960.
With decades of experience and a passion for sharing their homeland's cuisine, the team here offers a real taste of Italy's best dishes. We particularly love the look of the interiors which seem to transport you instantly to an old trattoria in Tuscany. Think classic wooden furniture, white tablecloths and wine bottles across the walls - it feels like you're there! The menu starts with a plentiful selection of antipasti, designed to be shared amongst the table so that everyone gets a taste.
The Insalata Caprese offers slices of juicy tomatoes with creamy buffalo mozzarella, the Sardine alla Griglia is all about salty, lightly grilled sardines and then there's the Gamberi alla Diavola with king prawns in oil, garlic and chilli. Moving onto mains and dishes are broken up by ingredient, which makes it really easy to order if you're pescatarian or vegetarian.
The Carne selection offers dishes such as grilled lamb cutlets, chicken breast in a cream, white wine and mushroom sauce, and fillet steak. On the veal section you'll find escalope in breadcrumbs with spaghetti napoli alongside many other iterations, and for pescatarians there's whole trout in a butter and lemon sauce, as well as sea bass in a fennel seed sauce and fish of the day. If pizza or pasta is more your thing, there's absolutely loads of choice there, also.
With a whopping 16 pasta options there's something for everyone, from braised beef ravioli served with butter and rosemary, to gnocchi dumplings in cream and pesto sauce.