Shopping malls normally boast the kind of food emporia found at airports, but efforts to reverse this trend have clearly been made at Westfield London. The shopping centre bristles with the sort of restaurants that find a foothold in areas that have recently become gentrified. While it is unlikely that this shopping centre is about to become a newly upmarket area, Kitchen Italia goes a long way towards debunking the association that shopping centres share with sub-standard fare.

The Venue
Kitchen Italia is located in a large, high-ceilinged hall. One wall is taken up by the kitchen while the side facing it is made of glass, allowing diners glimpses of the hoodies that bob along outside. A shorter wall comprises a bar area, and the opposite wall rises to become a gentle wave of off-white plaster reminiscent of the skillfully carved robes on ancient marble sculptures, or sheets of lasagne. Large tables of six or eight and one very long table extend across the room.

The Atmosphere
Staff are very keen to explain the menu, and will be more than happy to keep you informed about everything, including the subtleties in the relationships between the shape of the pasta and the viscosity and consistency of the sauce.

The Food
The menu is pasta heavy, with a selection of antipasti to be enjoyed as either a starter or an accompaniment, the idea being that, like in an Italian cantina, everything is good and can be eaten at any time. A serving of char-grilled dough topped with fontina, sausage and rocket (£3.45) is a symphony of loveliness. Fontina is so perfect for melting, especially over something meaty. Some crispy squid (£4.50), playing host to saffron mayonnaise, is tender and has all the salty delights of fresh seafood. Beef carpaccio (£4.95), on the other hand, does a bad job of representing the turf, so cold that the meat loses all flavour although the texture still manages to be tender and exciting.

From the pasta menu, orrechiette with charred black cabbage and pine nuts (£5.95) is an exceptional dish, although British tastes may be wary of a tryst between pasta and cabbage. The linguine alla vongole (£8.95) is good, a faithful and balanced dish with every variable in harmony. Excellent in fact, but the orrechiette and the intriguing cabbage achieve that rare thing from an Italian restaurant in the UK, let alone in a shopping centre. It is new and fresh and makes Shepherd’s Bush worth visiting, repeatedly.

For dessert the tiramisu (£4.25) is fresh and lustrous and heady with aroma. Pistachio ice cream (£4.25) turns out to be another dish worthy of a journey on the Central Line. With its denseness and dark greenness and lack of cloying sweetness it is so good that you’ll ask where it comes from. And it turns out it comes from the Kitchen Italia’s sister restaurant, the gastronomic temple Villandry.

The Drink
Beers are bottled and Italian. Wine is made up of a small but good selection, all well priced, but only available by the carafe, not the bottle. With pleasant tones and lingering, complementary flavours, the wine is so good and sits so well with the rest of the meal, you’ll want more of it. Admittedly, the wine is better than you’d usually get for the price, so perhaps the rationale is that this is a better deal. Unlimited filtered water is available for £1.50, fresh juices for about £3 and coffees for about £2.50.

The Last Word
Kitchen Italia is so competent an execution of such an old formula, it is hard to find a significant failing (bar the missing bottles of wine). Like a good pasta dish, Kitchen Italia not only has all the right elements, it brings them together in perfect proportions.

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