Il Portico

Lovely atmosphere, delicious food & friendly staff. One of our favourites!

Family owned restaurant, delicious food and outstanding service!

You feel you have found a little bit of Italy when you visit this Kensington eaterie. The food is excellent and staff really attentive.

Excellent service and authentic Italian food. The ambiance was lovely for Valentine’s Day and didn’t feel rushed or pressure to leave. 10/10

Very professional and friendly service. Fantastic food. Whatever you choose test really delicious. Best Italian restaurant in London.

Booked an early meal there and requested a quiet table as I was entertaining a journalist. Nice table tucked away. Food was of good quality although possibly a tad on the pricey side. The service was very good. Will definitely return

All perfect as always

I may fly back to London just to eat here again, amazing!

I’ll Portico is a consistently fantastic experience. Service, quality, ambiance, food always amazing.

What a fabulous restaurant, made to feel at home as soon as we arrived. Lovely welcome in to what appeared to be a lovely local Italian restaurant. Almost felt we were in Italy.
Great food also I had a beautifully cooked Dover Sole off the bone just for convenience otherwise I would have left it off as it stayed warmer. Great sauté potatoes and Zucchini Frito. My wife had a lovely Veal Milanese and also had the sauté potatoes and shared some of my Zucchini.
Puddings were divine Affogato and Tiramisu. Wine by the glass was excellent and not over the top , good Italian varieties.. overall a great experience and we will recommend and revisit on our next trip to Kensington. Another to add to our fav restaurants.

the food, the staff, the whole evening was thoroughly delightful

Three of us who were working at the National Franchise show went here. We had a stunning evening, the food was a delight and the calves liver a dream. Highly recommended but do ensure that you book early.

We found Il Portico by accident last year, I’ve been wanting to go back ever since. I took my friend last week and she loved it. We had a very strong cocktail each to start with.
The starters were lovely, I had simple mozzarella, tomato and avocado, my friend had spicy prawns. Both were delicious. She had calves liver with sage in butter and I had Vongole for our main courses - along with some courgette.
The staff were helpful, friendly and fun. The atmosphere is very ‘family’ and last time I was there, we saw quite a lot of children who seemed to be having a great time.
I highly recommend it. Treat yourself.

Lovely friendly buzzy atmosphere with attentive and relaxed staff.

This is the best italian food I have eaten outside of Italy - it's a bit more expensive than some others but definitely worth it, looking forward to a return visit very soon.

The prawn starter, as always was outstanding with a lot of zing, though for the first time I was a little disappointed with my main which was spaghetti vonghole.

This is a resolutely traditional, un-trendy, friendly place, family-run. Portions are generous and the menu sensibly not too large; vegetarians will not starve, nor will carnivores. I wish there were more retaurants like it.

Genuine italian family owned restaurant. Fantastic food and greatly sized portions - you will leave full and satisfied. The staff was really nice, assisting in choosing the wine and recommending on how to eat the anti-pasti properly. They recently asked if we were satisfied withe everything, but not so often that it came annoying. I would highly recommend going here.

Delicious Italian food! The Nonna cake for dessert was also delicious. The restaurant is small so the tables are close together but we had asked ahead for a spacious table and they had 2 small tables pushed together waiting for us which was very nice. The service was fine and the overall feel of the place was nice, to the casual side. If you want delicious pasta in a small neighborhood restaurant Il Portico is worth the trip!!

Go there for more than 12 years. James and his Team treat us, and every customer, like family. Food is amazing, the ambiance is casual & sophisticated. Hands down one of the top 3 Italian restaurants in London!

Lovely family-run Italian restaurant. Old school but very warm and friendly. good food, great location, nice people.

A nice warm friendly restaurant, good menu, informative staff.

Amazing!!! What a wonderful place! Fantastic food, attentive staff and a wonderful atmosphere

This is truly a neighbourhood gem and we always have a wonderful time here. The food is delicious and authentic and very fresh. It is very welcoming place with exceptionally nice staff.

We went to I'm Portico after noticing it had a rich history and had been around for 6 decades. We had a truly incredible meal of fresh homemade pasta with exquisite ingredients. Lots of of them sourced from their own farm. The service was also impeccable with Vito offering great choices for wines and James hosting and giving each table a memorable experience. We will definately be back!!

A very nice place with friendly, welcoming staff, fairly beautiful décor, and very good food. The linguine nero was quite good, and the duck--though slightly overcooked--was tasty as well. I feel like had the duck been cooked more appropriately, or they had had other of their local farm meats on offer, I would be saying this place was an outstanding gem.
While the negroni-style cocktails were great, I wish the beer selection had been better--wine is passé and overpriced, and the very best restaurants--even Italian ones--know this. Still, it was a lovely experience made all the better by the delightful service.

Il Portico never disappoints. The food and the atmosphere are always fabulous.

Best Italian food in London. Authentic, clean and full of flavour . A perfect evening was had by all.

Never fails - another wonderful meal at this authentic, friendly and still family-run true Italian restaurant. We haven’t been for a while due to travels but will return soon.

We ate here 6 years ago and loved it. Kept saying we wanted to go back and finally did. It was even better than we remembered. Absolutely stunning food, great atmosphere and perfect service. Can’t wait to go back. We certainly won’t wait as long the next time.

Our favorite restaurant in London.

Relaxed atmosphere and delicious food: we always have a wonderful time at this restaurant!

Lovely food, great service, highly recommended

Always good!

So, do you really need to go anywhere else but “home”? Not only do you feel like you’re at “Nonna’s” house for a Sunday supper, but you just don’t want to leave! Sublime antipasto, very good pasta and an amazing (as good as my own) Saltimbocca that just sings the praises of the staff, and the kitchen. I don’t know of a better Italian meal and home-like feel (but elegant and really perfect for a date or a business dinner) than this High Street Osteria. Superbo!

My favourite Italian Restaurant for many years. The cuisine from Emilia Romagna is wonderful, the menu is changed seasonally but varied with specials, many of which come from game sourced by the owner personally. Excellent wine list. A warm, friendly ambience with excellent service - the owner takes considerable care to make his customers feel welcome and wanted. I have taken many friends and family members there and organised special dinners there too.

I love this place and don't get to visit it often enough as it's not on our doorstep. Great service and fabulous food - in the 25 years I have been going, it's never disappointed.

Sono stata con la famiglia in questo ristorante. Personale molto gentile e disponibile. Titolare simpatico e premuroso. Sicuramente un ottimo posto! I piatti curati e molto buoni. Il conto negli standard londinesi, forse un po' alto per gli standard italiani. Ma ne è valsa la pena!

We found this place when we were staying in Kensington for a few weeks. Love the food - good old fashioned Italian cooking, the way it should be.

Enjoyed a leisurely lunch with family. The anti-pasti whetted the appetite, the burrata being particulary delicious and we liked the food enough to have 3 more courses. Friendly service, we were happy with the recommendations.