This Notting Hill favourite for those in the know packs the crowds in daily for the authentic Italian experience. Expect great food, a bustling atmosphere and dangerously cheap wine prices.

The Venue
Located on Kensington Park Road, Osteria Basilico is about ten minutes walk from either Notting Hill Gate or Ladbroke Grove tube stations. Located on a corner, it’s easily spotted with bold olive green and gold signage, and once inside the theme is pretty rustic, with heavy wooden furniture, deep red lampshades and eclectic antique shop artefacts. There’s seating upstairs and downstairs, with tables packed closely together and tiny gaps left for the waiters to breeze through.

The Atmosphere
Osteria Basilico gets very busy at both lunchtimes and the evenings, which can be a little disconcerting – you should expect to be able to hear conversation at the next table, so it’s not necessarily the best place for an romantic meal, although there’s a nod to intimacy in the evenings when the candles are lit. The crowd consists mostly of couples, ranging in age from mid-twenties to middle age, and is drawn principally from the Notting Hill locale, which creates something of a smug in-the-know feel that it’s nice to be in on. The staff are impossible to ignore, bustling around and calling out to each other in Italian, even singing along to the music; they add to the theatre of the place, and make your evening more fun although they should be willing to spend more time talking over the menu with customers.

The Food
An authentic Italian a la carte menu featuring a long list of antipasti, pastas, meat and fish dishes will keep even the fussiest of eaters happy, and there’s something here for Italian afficionados of all persuasions.

The great choice of antipasti will kick your meal off in sociable style, with a good option being to order a couple of dishes to share with your companion. The mozzarella with mushrooms and Parma ham is a generous serving of filling char-grilled cheese with the mushrooms and Parma ham served underneath it. The mozzarella tastes milky and has the grain that decent cheeses of this type should show, and the salty Parma ham cuts through what might otherwise be a somewhat bland flavour. The raw beef is another rather salty option; accompanied by pesto and Parmesan and served on a bed of rocket, the different flavours are a little less successful and seem to be rather competing with rather than complementing each other. Antipasti costs £7 or £8 a dish.

If you fancy a pasta main course, the veal pasta parcels are perfect. Tiny little parcels stuffed with veal then served in a rosemary sauce with generous shavings of Parmesan on top, this £8.50 dish is filling and satisfying. The flavours are rich and almost spicy, and the homemade pasta is prepared perfectly so as not to taste too heavy. If you’re a fan of northern Italian cuisine, don’t miss out on the osso bucco. This is a rare treat, served with an extravagantly yellow coloured saffron risotto. The veal falls apart at the touch of a fork, and the risotto is creamy but firm (no overcooked stodgy sticky rice here). It costs £14.50. Side dishes including rocket salad and green beans cost around £3.

Desserts are a little more disappointing, with only a few on offer. The £4.50 tiramisu is a classic though, and has been left long enough for the coffee and chocolate flavours to infuse properly. The selection of Italian cheeses at £5.50 is not for the faint-hearted, and you’d need some appetite to make an attempt at the generously served selection.

The Drink
The wine list is a revelation for Notting Hill – it’s cheap! There are around fifteen options under £20 alone, with the house red coming in at just £12. The £17 Valpolicella is a good choice with the veal dishes mentioned above, it’s not too heavy but it’s a dark, cherry interpretation of wines from this region, and has none of the thinness or acidity that sometimes mars this wine.

The Last Word
Osteria Basilico is a long established favourite with the Notting Hill crowd, because of the great food and good prices on the long wine list. The staff could be more interactive with the customers and it’s frightfully busy, but these are small criticisms compared to how exceptional the food is when they get it right.

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