Il Portico

What an amazing find! My husband and I were visiting and craving some good Italian food, we really found a gem here. The place was packed when we arrived, so we were glad we made a reservation. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we made a reservation to come back the next night,
Atmosphere– This is a cute neighborhood restaurant, nicely decorated with white tablecloths & outdoor seating.
Staff– Very friendly! They all worked together as a team each one checking on us at different points in time refilling wine, water and such.
Food– Delicious and home made with strong delicious flavors. We started with the Sardines and they were perfectly cooked, salty and crisp at the same time. I had Pasta both nights, and each time the sauce was flavored well and perfectly cooked. My husband had the free range chicken, it was so good he ordered it two nights in a row. It was crisped on the outside and perfectly juicy on the inside.
The only downside was when people started to smoke in the outside seating & the window is open smoke would blow in a little bit (we were seated near the window both nights). We closed the window and it was better.

I was first at this restaurant 20 years ago when when I was young and on holiday with my parents from the States. I had been back many times in my travels to the U.K. and it was always my favorite restaurant in London. It been several years since I had been back and I wanted to take my husband to share a memory. I must say I was sadly disappointed. The service was subpar at best. I wasn’t given a wine list until I asked what type of white wine they have. No one ever bothered to tell us the specials, which I wouldn’t have known they had except that I heard every other table be told them. The waitress who came to open our wine left to answer severely calls eventually asking another server to give us our wine because she had other things to attend to. It was obvious their regular customers were far more important, especially the owner who only paid attention to regulars and didn’t even great us. The food itself as a whole was edible at best. You could cut glass with the bread it was so hard. Some times memories are best left in the past. I most certainly will never return to that dreadful place ever again. It is more than evident the new generation of owners has a different management style.
Zev M. Kramer
Philadelphia PA USA

A fabulous place for an intimate Italian family meal with flavors that are fresh and amazing.

We arrived 3 people for at late reservation on a Wednesday night — it might have been the hottest night ever in London, which unfortunately resulted in a chaotic experience.
We were greated by an elderly gentleman, who seemed to be way more busy taking orders from other tables. When he finally took our order, he was in such a hurry resulting in him forgetting to notify the kitchen of our order. This meant we had to wait a solid 40 minutes for him to realize this mistake, and then finally the process of cooking our food started.
For drinks, we had water (loads!) and beer — unfortunately the fridges could not cope with the heat, and hence the beer was warm. The owner (I pressume) was kind enough to explain the situation to us, and brought us an ice-​bucket to chill the beers — amazing solution!
I shared the asparagus and parmesan starter with one of my companions — it was simple and great! For main course, I had the Tagliatelle Bolognese. It was a solid, simple italian, house cooked meal, but nothing more.
I suppose we caught the staff on an off night — but the place is great value for money.
Oh, and the bread is amazing, make sure to order loads!

I came here with no idea where to go to eat. Used Unilocal to find the highest rated restaurant near me and hiked the 1.5 miles not knowing what to expect.
The experience was well worth it. Excellent service, presentation, and amazing food.

Great restaurant with lovely staff and delicious food. This small restaurant is very cozy and seems to be constantly packed with people. The servers are very attentive and welcoming and the food comes quickly. I especially liked their gorgonzola gnocchi dish, it was very rich but very tasty!

This place lives up to its reputation! The food was really incredible, especially the shrimp appetizer. Great pasta as well. Great ambience, very attentive service. Can’t wait to go again.

I generally refuse to eat Italian food (except pizza) because I am a traditionalist and always disappointed by restaurants claiming to be authentic. Il Portico, however, is an absolute exception. The staff are fantastic — everyone is smiling, everyone is personable, everyone wants to crack a joke, everyone is enjoying themselves that it just rubs off on you — and yet they do this all without compromising on efficient and attentive service.
The Asparagi alla Parmigiana –Grilled asparagus with Parmigiano Reggiano gratin — were nice and crunchy with a thin layer of melted cheese on top. Simple yet tasty. The Prosciutto and Mozzarella plate was simple, but you could tell the prosciutto had been freshly sliced just then as it was light pink in colour with no dried edges. The Fusilli Ortolana — Fusilli with sundried tomatos, artichokes, and spring vegetable — was fresh, cooked perfectly al dente with just the right amount of vegetables and not overdone with sauce. The Gnocchi alla Sorrentina — homemade (yes! finally real ones!) gnocchi with tomato sugo, melted mozzarella and basil, baked in the oven — were divine. PERFECT gnocchi — not gummy, not too soft, not a factory-​made shape. Beautiful in a simple tomato sauce laced with mozzarella cheese that didn’t come out in globs.
I will most definitely be returning.

I went to this restaurant with a party of four. We all had different dishes– risotto, lamb, duck, and calves kidney– and each one was outstanding. The sides were also exceptional, cooked perfectly and delicious. We had broccoli and mashed potato. Would definitely recommend and will return.

Very nice Italian … A small place, but comfortable. We were warmly received and shown to a table. The place was very busy, but the service attentive and nice.
The food was well prepared. The asparagus delicious as were the king prawns. It’s a 10 – 15 min walk from the high street Kensington tube stop in the circle line. Our waiter was nice enough to flag down a taxi for us when we left.

Amazing food and friendly service. Was in London for business and stumbled into this restaurant. They treat you like family there. Had the risotto which was delicious! very much recommend if are in the Kensington area.

The warmest reception ever by the staff. Just amazing.
The asparagus and parmesan were great. Shared the shellfish linguini with the hubs and thought it was perfectly cooked.
I had a fish dish with fennel and pink peppercorns after and thought it was lovely. Simple food but good.

We went to Il Portico for the New Year’s Eve dinner and it was an overall good experience. The food was simple but well prepared, particularly the pasta dishes. The service was very courteous. It seemed that quite a few guests that night were regulars, so it’s always a good sign. The prices were reasonable.

Very good Italian restaurant. I had the wild boar pasta dish and my wife had this chicken dish, both were good. They also had a good wine selection as well. The restaurant had a nice ambience to it. If you want Italian in London can’t wrong with this place.

I found Il Portico through a Unilocal search for highly rated restaurants in the Kensington area. I wasn’t disappointed.
We attended on a Friday evening. The service was very attentive and helpful (genuine hospitality rare for a restaurant in London!) and the food was amazing. I had the house-​made gnocchi and my dinner companions had veal and steak dishes. We followed with the tiramisu and gelati.
Don’t be put off by the website — the photos online don’t actually reflect the beautiful and simple décor of the restaurant.
Very highly recommended.

I am not sure I can say anything that hasn’t already been said.
Quite literally the best italian food and restaurant I have been to, including the ones in Italy!

It’s been some time since I last ate here, but since it is still owned by the same family, I am secure in my review, and my friend in the neighborhood concurs that Il Portico is absolutely as good as ever. I’ve not quite felt like family coming to a restaurant during my last two week visit like here, probably eating here 3 or 4 times during that period. The place and people are irresistible, and the food (and wine) is first rate. The standout for me were the grilled sardines, which were spectacular, and each pasta I had I loved. Mounds of delicious crusty bread dipped in olive oil salt and pepper sate you before and between courses. For visitors or Londoners, Il Portico is a relaxed, fantastic family run eatery I couldn’t recommend enough to anyone.

This unseasonably warm night started off in a hotel bar right off of Hyde Park. I like the Kensington High street area, but aside from business dinners in hotel restaurants have never really had the opportunity to explore this area. We had quite the mix of characters this evening. An ex-​pat American from Cleveland, an ex-​pat Brussels based Italian, and me. Having saturated ourselves in imported beer and wine in the hotel lobby bar meet up spot, we decided to hit the high street for something to eat.
I never really got the full story of how he knew the place (or if he even did), but our Italian friend walked us full-​on into Il Portico. The place was packed on a random Wednesday night, but a couple of words exchanged between our new found friend and the host landed us in a corner booth in the back with comped glasses of Prosecco in our hands.
Being that I’d been in London already for a couple of days, and obligated to attend work functions outside, and inside of the city for the past few nights made this especially comforting. Just drinking and dinner relaxing with some old and new friends. I’d been longing for a down-​home, Italian comfort food meal since I landed, and this place fit the bill.
I started off with the caprese salad of caprese salads. This not only had the requisite tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil, and balsamic. But also a healthy heap of prosciutto.
When the spaghetti and clams arrived, although a staple and most pedestrian of Italian cusines, it immediately bought me a feeling of familiarity and content. The group devoured this as our chosen pasta plates arrived. My veal ravioli were delicious, delectable, and cooked to perfection. And then for the main course, the veal saltimbocca was amazing.
For a city known to be expensive, Il Portico was definitely a value. I’m not saying it’s cheap, but for the value of the cosine, I’d definitely open my wallet again. As I’m in this area fairly often, I’ll be sure to make a return to Il Portico shortly.

Sometimes I fall in love with places first time round, others talk me a little longer.
For Il Portico, it was second time lucky.
Almost a year since I last went in, we went back last night for what was one of the nicest, most authentic — and most delicious Italian meals of my life.
Nestled at the end of High St Ken, Il Portico is small but perfectly formed. It’s warm, inviting, and all of the staff are superbly polite and trained to perfection.
Following the HUGE tasty olives and fresh-​baked ciabatta we were given upon arrival, I had a king prawn starter for the second time. I can’t recommend it enough. With garlic, herbs, lemon and a hint of chili, the sauce will have you asking for more bread and the seafood itself is top notch. Great portion size and something I’ll have again in a heartbeat.
Then I had the handmade pumpkin and ricotta tortellini, which were JUST as I hoped. Light, creamy and utterly divine.
My other half had a lovely starter of what looked like a slice of a giant cannelloni, with meat ragu and bechamel sauce filling. It had all the flavours of lasagna, just in a different format. Taaaaaasty. Then he has steak with wild mushroom sauce (which the owner later told us were handpicked), which was also very, very good.
We has beautiful wine to match and left happy, with the bill coming in at a very reasonable £82. I would have had a dessert but just wasn’t that inspired by what was on offer, next time I hope there will be something to whet my appetite.

I’m always searching for the comforting Italian that I know from Chicago. While I realize the UK doesn’t have the same Italian immigration history as the US, I am still a little disappointed in the lack of basic Italian cuisine in London. And what I’m searching for is probably more of a hybrid Italian-​American cuisine than anything – but that’s beside the point, because I’m an American, and I want things how I want them (this is me trying to be a self-​deprecating Yank).
Well, this past weekend I was introduced to a little Sicilian place in Kensington, that is very close to the mob-​fronted, Italian-​American places I know and love in Chicago. While it was a little warm inside, we stayed cool with a crisp bottle of trebbiano, grilled sardines, and beautiful prosciutto and mozzarella di bufala. For mains it was pasta, although I have it on good authority that the osso bucco is also quite good. The gnocchi was nicely chewy and drowning in heart-​stopping amounts of cheese, while the linguine in squid ink was just as amazing. Lots of beautifully sautéed little fishes accompanied it.
It was heavenly, and I can’t wait to go back. Although next time I’ll make a reservation ahead of time. We did have a little trouble getting in just after prime-​dinner hour, but it gave us an excuse to check out the quirks of the neighbourhood. All in all, a very successful night!