Sweet Basil

‘Good Italian – simply done’ neatly sums up the food at this pretty little eatery on the fringes of Spitalfields Market. Sweet Basil is a family-run place, where sweet staff foster a contented buzz in the airy, brick-lined dining room. Here you might order char-grilled calamari with chilli, ginger, garlic, fresh lime & parsley, before sampling milk-fed Dutch veal with a fresh lemon & butter sauce, char-grilled blue-fin tuna with caperberries & anchovies, or a generous bowl of spaghetti with scallops, spinach, chilli & garlic. Head down to the basement if you want something more unbuttoned & affordable; the pizza-based menu (from £7.75 for a margherita) is beefed up with a few salads & pastas. Outside, crisp napery adds a touch of Mediterranean class to the tables that sprout around the exterior in fine weather.