“you’ll find them at Maxine’s, where all the girls dreams” This is my equivalent in London.

There are a few amazing Italian restaurants we used to go to all the time in the 1980’s when the wine bar was a new concept, people enjoyed a bottle of pop (champagne) most nights, money was abundant in London and dining out was all the time not the once a week treat it has become.

A few amazing haunts have survived and still provide the great food and great service they have always been known for but can offer a little nostalgia on the side, and Scalini’s on Walton street is one such place where the spaghetti carbonara tastes exactly the same as it did 35 or 40 years ago.

For me these are the best Italian restaurants in London, the ones that have endured. The ones where the kids of the parents and grandparents have got hooked on the food, the love, the energy and have continued to support. At a time when hospitality has been hit harder than possibly any business it is these loved by many places that have survived but still need support and new customers.

I went to Scalinis recently to enjoy my favourite carbonara and although the food was mouth wateringly good, as usual it was a Thursday lunchtime and I was sad to see what was once a packed to gills eatery where getting a table was often tricky and everyone wanted to be pushed to the front of the line by the maitre D’ so supported regularly, had been reduced to 50% capacity.

We had a great time and the waiters had the same energy, speed and fun, it would just have been better had it been packed.

When we mentioned where was everyone, they told us it still gets very busy in the evening so to make sure you have a reservation.

Other places with old heritage you might want to pop on your radar are Daphne’s down the road from Scalinis open since the 1980’s and Da Mario’s in South Kensington where the atmosphere is always fantastic and the food even better, particularly the pizza.

San Lorenzo in Knightsbridge was another favourite now sadly closed permanently, the building occupied by squatters since June 2024 according to the Independent.

For anyone who got to go it was an absolutely fantastic and memorable experience.

I would be so sad if Scalinis, with it’s iconic white brick interiors, amazing photographs, dark blue chairs and crisper than crisp heavy white table cloths ever ever closed it’s doors, so if you are in the Brompton Cross neighbourhood, not Chelsea, not Knightsbridge, take a stroll up Walton Street and settle into a taste of classic nostalgia in London.

For me Scalinis is as iconic as Brasserie Lipp, Boulevard St Germain in Paris where movie stars have flocked for 4 decades to experience that Je ne said quoi.

Scalinis on Walton St, SW3 is open for lunch and dinner every day except Monday.