Caraffini

With its signature scribbled across the windows, cheery cream & blue interiors & an ample pavement terrace, Caraffini is an archetypal Chelsea Italian & a good-value fallback for this high-rolling neighbourhood. Professional staff exude genuine warmth as they deliver the goods to a largely middle-aged crowd of gents & ladies: expect capable renditions of familiar pastas such as spaghetti alla puttanesca & penne luganega (tomatoes, mozzarella & Italian sausage), plus fish dishes (grilled sardines with balsamic & olive oil, for example), & the obligatory veal escalope or juggernaut steak for meat-lovers. Daily specials such as wild boar, swordfish or taglierini with lobster add yet more choice, & the exclusively Italian wine list spans everything from house Trebbiano to superTuscans such as 2001 Sassicaia.