Thanks. I think we'll try it in September. There's mo menu online. What did you have?

mtt: New Barnet is on the FAR northern outskirts of London - it would be a 40 minute journey on tube and train.

There are hundreds of good Italian restaurants right in the middle of London.

I better buy a map...SOON! Thanks.

At the end of the Northern line.

However, it IS quite close to . . . CHIPPING Barnet.

that's just mean surfergirl

"There are hundreds of good Italian restaurants right in the middle of London."

Hmmm...

There are intermittently a tiny handful. Which then zoom out of my price bracket, or get so choked with the reviews they get from Maschler, Coren and Gill that you can't get in for a year, by which time the chef or the owner's decided it's easier to make a living back in Poggiwoopsi.

London has by far the world's finest Indian and Cantonese restaurants, and arguably some of the finest French influenced ones, on earth. Italians just haven't ever in my experience been its forte.

If you want a decent Italian, it really is easier (and sometimes cheaper) to get a flight to Milan or Pisa, have lunch then come back home for supper.

Can we NOT get into a pissing contest about whether or not any of the Italian restaurants that are in London and yes there are plenty are "good" or not?

Tom, I suggest you do your usual and look up recommendations on TripAdvisor or on Zagat's or TopTable

<<Can we NOT get into a p*ssing contest . . .>>

Well, flanner rang in so . . . no.

Considering that London is a city of the world and has more Italian restos than you can shake a dead cat at, you're sure to find one or two that are good. Timeout.com will also be a useful resource.

Why eat Italian when going to London if you are a foreigner? Why not English cuisine - like if you went to Rome would you look for a French or German restaurant?

So in London stick to English cuisine - well since there is no English cuisine really when thought of in those terms I guess that means Pub Grub every night? Or yet another Cornish Pasty?

14 nights of Shepherd's Pie or Bangers and mash might be a bit much PQ. A little pasta one night sounds pretty good.

"you're sure to find one or two that are good"

Just not true.

It makes perfect sense to trog out to New Barnet if it happens to be a week when there just isn't anywhere in London where the food tastes like a neighbourhood trat in a normal small town in Italy. And if that's what you've got a yen for..I've been known to drive to Crouch bleeding End for pasta that didn't taste like Central London

It's got nothing at all to with "world cities". If you like what passes in Las Vegas for Italian, it's dead easy to find it in London. If you want Italian cooks making money and a reputation by innovation and high level technical skill, London's pretty good. But London's contemporary Italian population are here because they want to get away from what mamma cooks, and the kind of Italian chef who cooks that way has a far easier time with supplies, customers who understand what he does and aren't out to get arseholed, affordable rent and staff he can trust back home.

Guacamole anyone?

I have several fabulous restaurants in London's central area that have food made from scratch and have been around for decades so don't know why anyone would waste your time,tube money and energy to travel 40 minutes out?
Ciao Bella on Lambs Conduit street(Russell Square area and Coram Fields) along with my favorite, Trattoria Mondella on 36 Goodge Street(off Tottenham Road in Bloomsbury) which is my favorite! It's so good that even Mick Jagger has eaten there! Everything from the seafood to the pasta is to die for and the hosts,Maria and Joseph will make you feel like family!

We have been regulars At LA FAmiglia for 35 years . It is a bit pricey but excellent. Off the King's Rd at World's end .Real Tuscan cooking and the same staff for years.Mick Jagger?? I saw Princess Diana and the 2 little princes and Kate and William said it is a favorite!!

A cheaper option is Orsini's across from the V& A . Vary small but the food is excellent and varied