Italy - Taromina

If you fancy Italian for dinner, there are hundreds of restaurants and take-aways in London who can satisfy your Pizza and Pasta cravings. But how many of them aren't part of a national (or international) chain? How many of them can give you that little bit extra that makes you feel like you've eaten Italian and not just gone for a pizza?

Taromina (named after a small town in Sicily) is one of those few Italian restaurants in London who can give you a genuine Italian dining experience. It is, in fact, the kind of restaurant this blog is all about, small, family run and so authentic that actual Italians dine there.

We were delighted when we found this lovely little restaurant down a back street in Bayswater. Ok, so some people might call the Taverna style décor cheesy, but I liked the splash of rural Italy in the middle of West London. We visited Taromina on a Thursday night and the restaurant was pleasantly busy with European tourists for nearby hotels and Italian families.

When I couldn’t decide what to choose form the extensive menu our waiter suggested the Tortelloni crema e Funghi - spinach and ricotta stuffed pasta in a cream and mushroom sauce and the Lasagne al Forno. Both were excellent, the Tortolloni was rich and creamy and the Lasagna was fresh from the oven.

For desert we had the Floranmtiuna - vanilla ice cream swirled with chocolate and sprinkled with brown sugar and topped with amoretti biscuits and the home made Tirmasu. The Ice cream looked amazing but didn’t live upto expectations (it tasted like supermarket own brand) but the Tirmasu was excellent.

Over all we had a lovely meal, (but let's be honest - it's pretty hard to screw up pasta) but the lovely waiting staff were what made this place special, I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to Taromina again.


Address: Taormina Restaurant, 19 Craven Terrace, Bayswater, London, W2 3QH
Telephone: 0207 262 2090
Email: taormina.restaurant@hotmail.com
Opening hours:Open 7 Days a week 11.30am - 11.30pm


Tube: Lancaster Gate (Central line)
Bus: 148, 390, 94, N207 see TFL website for more info
Car:Metered parking on nearby streets


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