Easily missed, Giuseppe’s. But many will have seen the mad old Italian restaurant of the same name, a Borough stalwart almost 40 years old; Ciao Bella-esque and still family run. In a part of London shaped by modernity, the place is defiant: see its bright tricolour flag and its tagliatelle al salmone. I sort of love that restaurants run by Italians are more likely to add cream to their carbonara, and those run by English chefs are generally more fiercely, even obsessively authentic.
Below the restaurant is a bar open until 4am. That’s another thing I half-love about London, how nearly everyone claims it isn’t a late city. You just have to know where to look. Some people will cry “Trisha’s” here and yes, a glorious institution. Some people might also consider having a personality of their own.
In an alleyway by the restaurant, through a little black door, is a world of glitter balls and disco lights, of dancefloors circled by fridges and ancient wine racks. The tiles are old and the bar creaks beneath cheap vodka; signs are distinctly Live Laugh Love, though Italian by design, and wooden beams hang low above men in horrific shirts and women wearing heels that bamboozle.
I just love it here. Everything about it. The little TVs that are hardly ever on and the silly number plates and the photos of regulars having the best time of their lives. The banquettes are a dusty, cracking red, but still comfy, and a double and mixer will cost you a tenner whatever the spirit.
As for the crowd, sure there are some characters. Some of them you might not trust with your car. Not to mention the odd band of City boys who still live south of the river (yet to get that promotion and might not if they carry on in here). Still, mostly it’s just fans of penne arabbiata and those intent on dancing, no pretence, where nostalgia and whimsy are all. Josh Barrie
47-49 Borough High Street, SE1; giuseppesplace.com
Bar snacks
Bar Brasso
3 Viaduct Gardens, SW11, @barbrassolondon
Chef Robin Gill is opening a new all-day café and aperitivo bar called Bar Brasso next to his Nine Elms restaurant Darby’s. It’s inspired by the bars of San Sebastian and Venice, with an early menu of pastries and sandwiches before lunch that brings beef shin lasagne and garlic roast chicken. Come evening, drinks will flow, with £5 negronis and an enticing txakoli tap. And there’ll be a “Bourdain grilled toastie”, inspired by the late chef’s favourite bite with franceschini mortadella and fontina.
Noodle and Beer
27 Wardour Street, W1, noodleandbeer.com
One of Chinatown’s best places to eat and drink, Noodle and Beer, is opening a “mysterious” negroni bar in celebration of Negroni Week (September 22 to 28). From now, diners will be able to enjoy one of the world’s most famous cocktails alongside some of the finest noodles in town (get the mouth-watering chicken and the beef rib blanket noodles). And it’s another bar that’s open until 4am — just like Giuseppe’s, above. Come on now.
