Metrogusto

Outstanding Italians may be taken for granted in swanky parts of west London, but that’s certainly not the case a little further north. Metrogusto is the best for miles & it is maddeningly close to being great. The cluttered rooms filled with in-your-face artworks & the alert staff may be charming, but the kitchen sometimes suffers from its ambitions. Lamb cutlets were let down by their red wine & peach sauce, while guinea fowl & radicchio stuffing in tortellini could not stand out from its surrounding pool of butter. Play it safe – spaghetti with seafood sauce or pan-fried calf’s liver with onions & balsamic sauce – for the most rewarding results, & there is always the consolation of an interesting list of Italian wines, with plenty for less than £30 a bottle.