Whole fish on ice, chosen at the counter, cooked grilled, in a salt crust, or steamed. ALBA's daily catch, opposite Harrods.
A porterhouse the Tuscan way: bone-in beef, grilled hard, sliced and served to share. ALBA's big-occasion dish.
Maldon rock oysters, shucked to order at the raw bar, opposite Harrods. ALBA's oyster and seafood display runs through lunch and dinner.
Whole lobster, linguine, a deep bisque tomato sauce built from the shells. ALBA's showpiece pasta, made to share.
Hand-cut raw beef, a crown of black caviar, warm plain calzone bread alongside. ALBA's Beef Tartare is a study in restraint.
Four cheeses, a little pear, a thread of truffle honey. ALBA's Quattro Formaggi is the indulgent end of the pizza menu.
Pizza Diavola is the pizza for people who like a little heat. Buffalo mozzarella, a slow tomato base and halal spicy salami, fired in the wood oven.
Vodka pasta is having its moment, and ALBA London makes it properly. Arrabbiata alla Vodka: a spicy tomato sauce lifted with vodka, finished with a torn ball of burratina.
Risotto is the quietest test of an Italian kitchen. Carnaroli rice, the right stock, the right rhythm. Sicilian red prawns, saffron from L'Aquila, and a technique that takes its time.
When truffle season arrives in Knightsbridge, it arrives at ALBA London. Hand-cut tagliolini, browned butter, shaved white Alba truffle in autumn and winter, summer black truffle the rest of the year.
At ALBA London, pizza is treated with the seriousness it deserves. A wood-fired oven, twenty-four-hour proofed dough, San Marzano tomatoes, and a signature pizza crowned with black caviar.
Christmas at ALBA London. A festive set menu through December, group celebrations and sharing menus, and the dining room dressed for the season. Open through Christmas week.
An Italian Sunday lunch on Brompton Road. Doors open at twelve, tables hold for three hours, the kitchen runs at the right Sunday pace. Pasta cut to order, the daily oyster bar, the ALBA Pizza on the pass.
Lunch on a meeting schedule. A two- or three-course set menu, paced for a working diary, served Monday to Friday.
Candlelight, citrus trees, an open kitchen glowing at the pass. A long, unhurried evening for two, on the night that needs to feel like the night it is.
ALBA London's Express Lunch Set is the easy way to eat well in Knightsbridge without losing your afternoon. One Primi, one Secondi, coffee or tea included.
ALBA London's wine cellar rewards a slow visit between courses. Italian regional depth, Masseto and Dom Perignon in vintage, and a sommelier who works the room every service.
Italian cuisine is, perhaps more than any other in Europe, kind to vegetarians. ALBA London builds that generosity into the menu, with a bespoke vegetarian tasting menu on request.
Three native oysters and a glass of prosecco for £22, available daily at ALBA London in Knightsbridge, opposite Harrods.
Five minutes' walk from Belgrave Square and Eaton Square, ALBA London is Belgravia's neighbourhood Italian, without the neighbourhood-Italian compromises. Brompton Road, opposite Harrods.
On the Knightsbridge-Chelsea border on Brompton Road, ALBA London is the Italian restaurant Chelsea calls when it wants a serious kitchen and cellar without leaving SW3.
Eight minutes' walk from the V&A's main entrance, ALBA London is where an afternoon in the museum becomes an evening in Knightsbridge. Amalfi Coast cuisine and an open kitchen.
A twelve-minute walk from Sloane Square, ALBA London is the Italian restaurant Chelsea sends its friends to. Handmade pasta, signature pizza and a properly-stocked wine cellar.
Four minutes' walk from Hyde Park's south side, ALBA London is where a long morning in the park becomes a long Italian afternoon. Open daily from noon.
Pasta shaped to order, bread proved overnight, the wood-fired pizza oven at one end of the line. The dining room watches it all happen.
Refuelling between Harrods, Harvey Nichols and the Knightsbridge boutiques. A short walk to a proper Italian lunch and the table that will hold for an afternoon's shopping.
Italy counts something north of 350 pasta shapes. Each is engineered for a sauce: ridges grip ragu, tubes catch beans, threads carry oil. A reader's guide to the shapes worth knowing.
The Amalfi Coast cooks with sea and citrus. Lemons the size of a fist, anchovies cured in the morning, pasta shaped on volcanic stone. A reader's guide to what's worth knowing before you order.
Italian food is twenty cuisines wearing one flag. A reader's guide to how the regions of Italy cook, north to south, and how to navigate an Italian menu.
