Francesco Mazzei has come a long way since he opened L’Anima in 2008. Now, he’s a fully signed-up member of the celebrity chef circuit, with regular guest appearances on Saturday Morning Kitchen and a collaboration with Pizza Express bringing his work to a wider audience. Despite not always being in the kitchen at L’Anima – the arrival of a new bambino is as good an excuse as you can find – his kitchen remains a well-oiled operation serving up inspirational Italian food and drink in a stylish setting.

The Venue
Recently extended to provide extra covers, L’Anima’s key features remain the same: swathes of glass front on to the street, more glass is used as an internal divide to break up the bar and restaurant (be careful if you’ve had a few, it could get embarrassing), walls are fashioned out of earthy rock, and the seats are still brilliantly white. L’Anima may mean The Soul but the designer, Claudio Silvestrin, has created a very modern interpretation of the word.

The Atmosphere
Due to the cracking cooking and, in no small part, to the chef’s star being in the ascendant, L’Anima’s packed practically every night of the week. With a special dining section at one end of the restaurant encased behind (yes, you guessed it) more glass, there’s a definite air of meal here being an event (prices generally reflect this too). Diners are predominantly City professionals, perhaps unsurprising given the address, but L’Anima also attracts casually dressed foodies, industry people and even the odd celebrity.

The Food
Mazzei hails from Calabria, so you will see nods to his childhood on the menu – octopus with cannellini beans and mustia ricotta cheese, or Calabrian ice cream are just two dishes inspired by his early years.

Both the octopus (£15.25) and the baccala stuffed courgette flower (£13.50) demonstrate the kitchen’s undeniable prowess, with each dish bursting with flavour and showing a keen eye for detail. Mains set the bar even higher: the fish stew with Sardinian fregola has been on the menu since it launched and there’d be a riot if it was ever replaced. An orangey-red tomato soup base is flecked with grains of fregola (similar to couscous) and pepped with chilli heat, fresh herbs and lots of garlic. Prawns, clams and a white fish with the skin on sit on top and every mouthful is glorious.

Seasonally you may also be able to try one of the great gastronomic adventures, a dish with grated white truffle from Umbria. Whilst this comes with a fine dining-esque price tag – £38 for a relatively small portion of pasta with shaved truffle – the earthy, pungent, indulgent flavour is enough to quicken the pulse of any foodie to a rapid level.

A chocolate and vanilla ice cream (£7.50) or a whipped combo of whipped egg whites and lemon (lemon delice, £8) are just two of the puddings on offer. Both are more than agreeable albeit not as memorable as the previous courses.

The Drink
Italian wine quite rightly takes top billing on the menu. Piemonte, home to the misty hills that help create the magnificent Barolo, also offers up the much-cheaper-but-still-excellent Langhe Nebbiolo (for around the £40 per bottle mark). Well-crafted bellinis (£8 - £9) using fresh, seasonal fruit are popular as a pre-meal tipple, and an extensive cocktail menu is also in place.

The Last Word
It has been said that if L’Anima dished-up fine French food it would already have a Michelin star by now. There’s plenty to suggest this is true but L’Anima, with its classic southern Italian influences, thoroughly modern embellishments and incredibly talented head chef, shouldn’t change one iota. Being true to yourself is, after all, good for the soul.

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