In With The Cool Crowd at IT

IT restaurant Mayfair brings the Balearics to London in style
When an achingly hip Ibiza hotspot makes its way over to London, you can be pretty sure it will be worth getting excited about. And now that IT Restaurant has opened an outpost in Mayfair, there's a chance to soak up that Balearic vibe without waiting endlessly for the summer to start.

When an achingly hip Ibiza hotspot makes its way over to London, you can be pretty sure it will be worth getting excited about. And now that IT Restaurant has opened an outpost in Mayfair, there’s a chance to soak up that Balearic vibe without waiting endlessly for the summer to start.

Granted, there is no shortage of top notch eateries in this famously swanky part of town, but IT takes the food much more seriously than some of its rivals which seem to be more about being seen than having a decent meal. 

Here the chef at the helm, Gennaro Esposito, clearly knows his stuff, and from the first mouthful it is glaringly obvious why he was recently awarded two Michelin stars for La Torre del Saracino, his flagship restaurant in Milan. 

In London the menu takes inspiration from all over Italy, including his signature dish of wafer thin crispy pizza from Naples. It may not sound particularly exciting but trust me, this is a thing of rare beauty and it is well worth a visit for the pizza alone. We were also treated to a taste of the kitchen’s other signature dishes including courgette tartare and gratinated anchovy, but for me the hands down star of the show was the King Crab salad with artichoke and avocado – a glorious riot of colours and sweet buttery flavours. It looked so stunning on the plate that it almost seemed a shame to eat it (don’t worry, I managed).

When an achingly hip Ibiza hotspot makes its way over to London, you can be pretty sure it will be worth getting excited about. And now that IT Restaurant has opened an outpost in Mayfair, there's a chance to soak up that Balearic vibe without waiting endlessly for the summer to start.

The fresh pasta is as excellent as you would expect from an Italian restaurant of this calibre and the rack of lamb I tasted was a deeply impressive dish. I am assured that all eight of the desserts on offer are popular too but the walnut biscotti felt like a bit of a disappointment after all that had come before it. To be fair, it had a very tough act to follow.

IT London is certainly not a cheap night out, but for a special treat you can’t go wrong. The service is outstanding and the restaurant itself is a thing of beauty; it’s a cavernous former art gallery which has been transformed into a gorgeous looking place full of stylish touches. Stunning gold chandeliers overlook chic aqua suede banquettes, and the atmosphere in the bar is great fun too. You’ll find top flight cocktails and live DJs who manage to get the party started without the music being annoyingly loud or intrusive. 

Expect to see an awful lot of IT London popping up on your Insta feed over the coming weeks, but for once that powerful army of excitable influencers are on to something. This place actually is worth all the hype.  

  • Nadia Cohen

    As mum to a pair of cheeky twin boys, Felix and Harry, Nadia is mostly very tired. And sometimes she’s grumpy and very tired, but that doesn’t stop her attempting to have a life beyond sterilising and pureeing, even if that means she has been spotted strolling through the Grazia office with a Cheerio stuck to her bottom, or accessorising her fabulous Vivienne Westwood vintage with a smear of dried porridge. She loves lounging about in the sunshine with a cocktail (those were the days) and hates smug yummy mummy types offering their unwanted opinions on her sons’ snacks, schooling and snot.

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