Amici Miei

I’m suspicious of practically every ‘Italian restaurant’ in London.
My doubts were quickly dispelled by the warm greeting from a real Italian. It also helps that I was with one who recommended we dine here. Great choice.
We were in the mood for pizza (me) & Calzone (him). Fresh, delicious and the way we were both expecting it to be. You know, days later & I’m still thinking about the Diavola pizza. I inhaled it so fast I forgot about taking a pic for fellow Unilocalers to salivate over.
I was even more delighted to see they offer Moretti beer.
Service was light, yet attentive & added to the cosy charm. If I wasn’t stretched for time this could easily have turned into a late session.
The restaurant is not huge, I’m glad about that; hate the soulless feeling you get in larger, obviously fake, Italian style eateries.
This one is due for a few repeats.

I have this tradition of trying to always bring an Italian friend with me when I go to an Italian restaurant. They, like many, are very critical of their food served outside its natural habitat, Italy.
Having enjoyed many delivery pizzas from their next door venue, we opted to go to the restaurant for some dinner recently. Amici Miei «my friends» has two takeaway/​delivery locations, one in Muswell and my local in Shoreditch which also has the restaurant which we ate at.
Having looked at the menu, the Burrata took Ema’s eye, as this is a very particular type of mozzarella, with a solid shell, filled with both mozzarella and cream. Ema said that this gives it an unusual, soft and hard texture. She also added, «you can get this really wrong», so the pressure was on. Her starter was the Burrata which she enjoyed immensely. It was a huge seal of approval from a woman who is from Italy, but also has years of experience working in restaurants. I opted for the smoked swordfish carpaccio with pomegranate which was a huge move from what I would normally have. Firstly, I am not a fan of anything smoked and secondly, there were so many other gorgeous starts which would have been my immediate go to option. However, I decided to experiment and it was worth it. Fresh, delicious and delicate. Yum.
The bar was set high. As I had told Ema about the lovely pizza’s I have delivered, she wanted to taste this too. She went for their sourdough house pizza with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, parma ham and rocket. It was a big ticked box for her. I went for home made black ink linguine with calamari, zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Pasta can be boring, but this ignited my taste buds. I think the general feeling across all of the good was just how fresh it tasted. That partnered with fantastic, knowledgeable and attentive service, made the visit a start of an ongoing relationship. Italians work here too, which adds to the authenticity. The animated talking, the melodic tone of speaking, the obvious passion for what they do — we could have been in Italy.

This place really won me over for its service and it’s simple, rustic nature. We had reservations for 8 pm on Saturday night and they had a table waiting for us when we arrived. It was pretty bustling and while there may (or may not have — I didn’t pay super close attention) have been a few tables available for walk-​ins, the majority were taken. I’d recommend making a reservation for peak times. I was pleasantly surprised by how many people were there.
Our server was very nice and patient in answering our questions. They were also very amenable to customization, which I appreciated. Service was efficient and everyone was quite friendly.
The pizzas are individual, Neapolitan style. While they do lack some flavor (tomato sauce and dough are a bit bland), I still enjoyed the overall experience mostly because of the entire experience. I also love the fact that these are true Italians who really love and enjoy what they do and value the quality of their food.
Marinara — I always appreciate when a pizza restaurant has the marinara. It immediately makes me feel that the restaurant is more authentic and this one definitely is. This pizza is meant to be a no cheese pizza, simply made with sauce, garlic, oregano, and basil. Most places use fresh garlic, but this one uses garlic oil instead, so I had to request fresh. I also added gorgonzola to the pizza. The gorgonzola was quite mild (I would’ve wanted a stronger one), but overall the pizza was good. Again, lacking flavor, a bit bland, but nothing actively wrong.
Vegetariano — every vegetable you can think of: eggplant, zucchini, olives, mushrooms, onions, with mozzarella. Substituted broccoli for mushrooms and again they were very accommodating with the request. I would recommend getting no olives if you order this pizza. The brine of the olives permeated the entire thing and each vegetable just tasted as though it was soaked in olive juice. If it hadn’t’ve been for this, the pizza would’ve been better. Also, a bit too much oil on the veggies. But definitely a substantial pizza without meat.
I also really like the fact that they hand make each of their pastas instead of using pre-​made. I would try one in the future.

Ok, we haven’t been here for a while and tonight I’ve been reminded why we need to make the effort to get down here more often.
It was a serious debate over whether we went for the specials, some established dishes from the menu or give in to the massive temptation to just say, what the hell, we’ll have the pizza!
Having decided to go veggie a few months ago, I was pleasantly surprised at the choice available for the less carnivorous amongst is but decided on the aubergine and mozzarella starter, mushroom and blueberry risotto and a pile of salted caramel and snickers ice cream dessert. The better half went for the seafood starter, grilled rib eye steak and dared to dig in to MY ice cream extravaganza!
The food was superb, the service was attentive and the bill was surprisingly low in comparison to the quality and service.
The ambience here is laid back and unpretentious, quite an achievement considering how close to Shoreditch this is!
Highly recommended.

This was a recommendation from our landlord and it was a nice enough place to sit in.
The décor and feel of the place, invited you to stay for a while, sit and soak up the atmosphere…
However, the staff had a different opinion. All our food and drink were served in a rush. We were given maybe 5 min. to decide what to order and everything came, like two min. later. My boyfriend ahd not even finished his meal, when they cleared mine and our daughters plates.
It was rather expensive, but the food was really good. It really was. We just weren’t given the time to enjoy it.

Amici Miei is the restaurant formerly known as Due Sardi. Their garlic bread starter, a pizza base baked in tomato and garlic and served sliced in a paper lined basket, was excellent. So was the pizza base in our main course, but the shaved courgettes as a pizza topping are unfortunately too much like eating vegetable peelings.
The octopus salad was also tough and the crab ravioli left a shellfish taste in the mouth, with the butter sauce too heavy and oily. The menu didn’t list tomato sauce for the pizza we chose, so we were charged £1 extra. Margins are tight of course and no kitchen is a fan of off-​menu alterations, but as a customer it stings being charged for pasata in an Italian restaurant.
The Amici Miei name change also means bottarga appears to have been dropped from the menu. The Sardinian delicacy of cured fish roe, similar to bonito, is now a little bit harder to find in London.
If you are out for a fancy night in The Great Shoreditch Triangle Theme Park and want a reliable Zizzi style experience without the guilt of supporting a large chain restaurant, then Amici Miei (they have one other branch in Muswell Hill) will probably do just fine.
As an Italian restaurant to act as the highlight of your evening? The final bill was £64 for two people. At that price, better alternatives exist.

Always like to try new places and had heard about these risotto rice balls. Had these to go and they were good. Cheesey goey and flavoured well. Not sure if it’s anything more than a light snack though. Could have eaten about 10 of them.

I’ve travelled a lot to Italy and make my own pasta too. I don’t eat much pizza but I do eat pasta and the ravioli alla granchio (crab) was really excellent — with a lemon butter sauce it had just the right touch of lemon without being overpowering. Top notch. My deep fried calamari and prawns for starter was good but not the best I’ve had, served in a deep cup it was starting to go a bit soggy from condensation by the time I got to the bottom which was the main criticism. Service, 3* — I asked for water and despite there being no-​one else in the restaurant, I was given a small glass and the jug was taken away (to serve who else?) and the glass was not topped up despite having *NOONE* else to wait upon. So, 4.0 stars overall but I would definitely go back for that pasta. I find it really difficult to get good authentic italian in London and this was one of the few.

So here’s the deal: I work with a bunch of Italians. And they’re very picky about their pizza. They complain about every pizza they’ve ever eaten in London, and are very hard to please.
They swear by Amici Miei.
That’s how good this place is. The pizza has a good crust on it, the dough is lovely, and there’s a crazy choice of toppings. Yet, there’s a certain restraint and subtlety that lets both the bread and the toppings stand out. It is not overloaded with cheese or pepperoni.
My favourites: the delicata. A simple pizza with a few mushrooms and a light drizzle of truffle oil. You can’t order just one.

I ordered a pizza for delivery late one evening, it could have been good but it came cold and had no flavour at all it was very disappointing. It was the truffle oil one without the tomato base. It had no herbs at all on it. Maybe it’s better in the restaurant but I think I’ll pass on this place.

home away from home, incredible service, the place I go when I want to feel like my mother is cooking for me!

Pretty good pizza to be had here. I’ve been quite a few times and normally go for the Diavola with Spicy Salami & Fresh Chillies or the Amici Miei with Parma Ham, Rocket & Parmesan. Both a great pizzas. The service is friendly, and it’s pretty good value too. My only (minor) criticism is that their chilli oil isn’t spicy enough.
Note, that if you want a more laid back experience, you can order their pizza from the bar at Dream Bags and Jaguar Shoes next door. They also do takeaway.

As Italian I need to admit the pizza here is really good! One of the best in London for sure.
But unfortunately the service is not so great as the food. They don’t seems really care about the customers, for this I give just 3 stars.
Also is quite expensive.
Don’t take the tiramisu as dessert, is not really good.

Delicious pizza! Make an out of the way trip just to try it. Very friendly staff too.

Hearing mixed reviews from mates I opted not to order the Pizza when at Amici Miei. Instead I got the tagliolini al granhio. Its was good– rich crab and nice spices. The staff was friendly. A good experience — not mind blowing but okay.

I went to this place three times out of the two months I was in London. I loved the ambiance, quaint little place. Great venue to go with good friends for a long evening of laughter, wine, appetizers, and dinner. The desert is not bad either. Thank you, Topi for the excellent service-​twice! I tried a bit of everything, pizza, pasta, wine, dessert and thoroughly enjoyed it. My FAVORITE was the bruschetta. Better than any Italian place I’ve been to in the US thus far. Can’t wait to go back.

My first time here and I stayed for 5 hours. How can I not give 5 stars. Recommended to me this Sardinian Italian restaurant. Great food and staff are friendly. The atmosphere and interior is nice, cosy, warm and relaxing with large windows and a partial open kitchen.

I’ve walked by here a hundred times, and never gone in as I was almost always on my way to one of the Vietnamese places further down the street. I always had wanted to go, drawn in mostly by the pumping music and delicious garlicky aroma emanating from its pizza takeaway next door.
From the prior reviews it seems like they’ve had a bit of journey in terms of food and service… so perhaps I’ve dropped in at the right time. We both had the tagliatelle con salmone special, which was absolutely delicious: pasta al dente just right, dressing not too creamy, good portion of salmon in it. Wine selection was good and comparably priced to other restaurants. Food prices are also reasonable, particularly for the area. Staff were really friendly and happy, overall service was excellent.
Now for the ambience: personally, I loved it. Good low-​key dance music playing, medium-​low lighting, and very cozy seating. ‘Cozy’ can also be considered ‘squashed’…but somehow in this venue it works. The close seating makes the experience seem more shared… and indeed my friend and I had a short chat with our dining neighbours. And why not? It’s always fun to talk to new people isn’t it? We had a thoroughly enjoyable evening here.

OK, this is crazy that this place doesn’t receive 5 stars.
First off food: outstanding. Pizza is as good as any London/​NY/​Italy. Appetizers and other mains are also solid.
Service is phenomenal. Price is reasonable. C’mon folks, don’t sweat the small stuff. This spot is great.

Si je devais mourir demain à Londres, c’est chez Amici Miei que je mangerais ma dernière pizza !
Depuis que nous avons découvert cette pizzeria, il né se passé pas une semaine sans que mon copain et moi manifestions une terrible envie de pizza. Je dois avouer que je n’ai d’ailleurs jamais goûté au reste de leur carte, tant les pizzas sont délicieuses.
L’intérieur du restaurant est chatoyant, et très animé quand la salle est pleine et que les serveurs courent partout. Ils sont d’ailleurs hyper sympa et toujours souriants ! L’ambiance doit être très bonne au sein de leur équipe, même si ils font certainement un paquet d’heures, car on retrouve les mêmes serveurs depuis des mois.

In Shoreditch brummt ja richtig das Leben, wobei hier ja eher das Nachtleben abgeht, als das ich hierher kommen würde zum Essen. Zugegebenermaßen war ich auch eher tagsüber zum Shoppen in der Gegen, oder eben mitten in der Nacht für die zahlreichen Bars und Clubs. Nun also das erste Mal zum Abendessen. Und wurde das Amici Miei empfohlen, obwohl die Bewertungen ja eher gegen einen Besuch sprachen.
Drinnen ist es urig gemütlich und der Steinofen lässt die Erwartungen steigen. Der freundliche und wirklich bemühte Service ließ mich sofort willkommen fühlen. Mein Wein, der recht schnell kam schmeckte auch sehr lecker, und ballerte mir ganz schön in den Kopf, denn warum kamen wir hierher? Hunger! Großer Hunger! Wein auf nüchternen Magen ist also immer eine gute Idee… NOT!
Lange musste ich auf meine Pizza nicht warten. Während der Boden genau so war, wie ich ihn mir wünschte, war ich mit dem Belag nicht besonders glücklich. Der Serrano Schinken war ziemlich salzig und leider nicht besonders zart, sondern eher faserig zäh. Schade! Die Vorspeisenplatte war nämlich richtig lecker und steigerte meine Erwartung auf die Pizza gleich noch mehr, aber die Pizza wurde dem ganzen leider nicht gerecht.
Das Ambiente stimmt voll und ganz und auch als Gruppe hat man die Chance einen Platz zu finden (und man fühlt sich als Gruppe auch willkommen), aber Pizza habe ich schon bessere gegessen. Vielleocht probiere ich beim nächsten Mal die Pasta. In Shoreditch gibt es sicherlich schlechtere Lokale, von daher kann man hier auf jeden Fall reinschauen.

Shoreditch gilt als das neue In-​Viertel Londons, daher war ich besonders happy, als wir hier mein Kollege Alex aus London ein «Meet the owner”-Event veranstaltet hat. Nach ein paar Drinks wurden wir hungrig und suchten eine kleine Pizzeria in der gleichen Straße auf. Zugegeben von außen schien der Laden weniger spektakulär.
Innen erwartetet uns schummriges Licht, kleinere und größere Holztische, eine offene Küche mit Blick auf die Pizzabäcker und ein kleiner Kamin. Prädikat: Italienische Gemütlichkeit in der britischen Weltstadt. Die Bedienung war super freundlich, für meine Kollegin wurde sogar eine Ausnahme in der Zusammenstellung ihrer Pasta gemacht, die kam jedoch erst mal falsch auf den Tisch. Tendenziell gar kein Problem nur die Frage, ob sie es dann doch so haben möchte, wie gewünscht, fand ich ein wenig schade. Das ist fast so als wenn ich jemanden eine Überraschung ankündige und kurze Zeit darauf frage, ob derjenige wirklich die Überraschung möchte oder doch lieber ein Standartgeschenk.
Die Vorspeisenplatte war ziemlich fleischhaltig und somit für mich uninteressant. Meine Kollegen fanden sie aber okay. Meine Pizza mit Muscheln und Seafood war geschmacklich ebenfalls in Ordnung, jedoch viel zu ölig. Die Pasta-​Gerichte sahen jedoch richtig lecker aus und waren auch richtig ordentlich portioniert. Preislich geht es hier typisch London-​like zu. Né Pizza gibt es ab 10 Euro. Meine lag auf Grund der Meeresfrüchte sogar bei 13 Euro.
Mein Fazit: Eine durchschnittliche Pizzeria mit sehr freundlichem wenn auch etwas verpeiltem Service-​Personal! Nettes Ambiente, aber mit Sicherheit kein Abend der in die Geschichte der italienischen Küche eingehen dürfte!

Shoreditch un soir: trouver une table pour 8 sans résa. Il faut être patient. Après avoir failli mourir 10 fois dans les impasses d’East London (si, si on avait presque l’impression d’être dans Trainspotting. Presque), c’est l’ambiance cosy et tamisée, pas déplaisante, d’Amici Miei qui nous a attirés. Les grandes tables communales, le service est un peu sur la lune, avec un petit air ahuri parfois, mais gentil rendent l’expérience simple et pas stressante. Je pense que voir arriver 2 tablées de 10 personnes, ça a interloqué nos serveurs. S’ils avaient su qu’on étaient tous des community managers chez Unilocal,ils auraient peut être encore plus perdu leurs moyens…
La carte tourne autour de la pizza, des pâtes et des poissons/​viandes, de la cuisine italienne quoi !
La fraîcheur des plats n’est pas une évidence: je doute que mes gnocchis du jour aient été vraiment frais, et les pâtes de mes voisines étaient surement congelées aussi, mais bon, c’était plutôt bon dans l’ensemble. Mes gnocchis à la sauce tomate et à la ricotta fumée étaient même pas mal du tout. Ils tireraient la note vers les 3,5 étoiles.
Autour de moi les plats né cassaient pas des briques en termes de goût mais s’en sortaient dans l’ensemble assez dignement. Pas un must do mais une bonne solution de dépannage.

Ok, ok, truth be told, when we realized that the place was «only a 2 stars», we were a bit distraught. Anyway, we were really hungry, nicely set up at large wooden tables, with dim lights and a cosy/​happy atmosphere, and did really feel like eating here. So we did eat here!
And all in all, if I can certainly understand where the 2 stars came from, I think I’ll go for a 3 stars, because my pasta was «ok». Mind you, I’ve had way better pasta before, and they were a bit too cold, too heavy on sauce and too bland, but after reading the previous review, I expected something… worse. The buratta and bruschetta we shared as an entrance was also quite good, if not fantastic and the service was really nice and caring. And they serve Peroni beer, which I like! The thing is I think I’ve picked up bad habits, living so close to Italy, so I can’t really get extatic about random Italian food anymore, but hey, I guess if I lived in the neighborhood, I’d be happy to grab pizza or pasta from Amici Miei from time to time!
So yep, 3 stars!

Toller Abend im Amici, es war brechend voll, kurz gewartet, ein paar Tische zusammen geschoben und uns Sechs mit reingequetscht. einfache, schlichte und damit perfekte italo Küche.alle Gerichte
Tiptop und flott serviert.
Eine schöné Erinnerung an London!