Locanda Ottoemezzo

There will come a time in your life when, through no fault of your own, you will have to organise dinner in Kensington for your friends who live in east London. It may seem like an impossible feat to find somewhere that’s nice, but also not too pricey, not too stuffy, not too polished, and not too well, er, W8. Thanks to Locanda Ottomezzo, a neighbourhood Italian restaurant with Italian movie memorabilia on the walls and actual Italians in the seats, planning this dinner is not impossible. This isn’t the finest of Italian restaurants but it gets the job done. Plus, there’s some theatre in the form of the risotto which comes to your table in a cheese wheel, is mixed, and served on your plate.

photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch