Last Updated on July 10, 2026
An Italian summer in the heart of North London
4.5 out of 5.0 starsThere are few places that do summer quite like Italy. My holiday memories all revolve around the next meal, whether it was a peach bought from a roadside stall, a cone of fried seafood eaten by the sea, or a bowl of perfectly cooked linguine vongole savoured over a long lunch in a sun-drenched piazza. Flavour isn’t confined to restaurants – it spills out onto market stalls, family-run cafés and narrow cobbled streets. It’s this effortless celebration of seasonal ingredients and joyful eating that keeps drawing me back.
But sadly, there will be no travel to Italy for me this year, and if you’re in the same boat, then fear not – Noci’s summery menu offers the next best thing: a joyful, sunshine-soaked trip through Italy without leaving the UK.
Perched on the edge of Islington Green, Noci has become one of London’s reliable neighbourhood Italian restaurants. It’s not weighed down by tradition or endless menu pages of predictable pastas and pizzas. It takes inspiration from the way Italians actually eat – sharing plates, seasonal produce and simple ingredients curated with respect and much love.
Behind the menu are chefs Matteo and Matteo, who understand that the best Italian food doesn’t need to be complicated – just fresh, seasonal and well cooked.
Summer at Noci begins before you’ve even ordered. The room buzzes with the kind of energy you’d normally expect from a piazza in Florence as golden hour sets in. Glasses clink, lively conversations overlap, and Aperol Spritzes glow orange and pink across the tables. It feels exactly as any good neighbourhood restaurant should – relaxed, lively and effortlessly cool.
Naturally, the meal starts with snacks designed for sharing – even if you immediately regret doing so, which was certainly the case for me- the Bocconcini Fritti – fried mozzarella balls with marinara sauce. They’re impossible to stop eating. Light, airy mouthfuls which were paired perfectly with a cold glass of Vermentino.
My fellow diners raved about the ‘nduja arancini, which is one of the menu’s stars. Crisp shells of creamy risotto with spicy Calabrian sausage served with a parsley aioli.
Burrata arrives next alongside courgettes, lemon, mint and Aleppo chilli – a celebration of everything British summer does well viewed through an Italian lens.
Of course, good pasta is the beating heart of any Italian, and Noci have taken much care to introduce some new choices, freshly made daily. Sure, there’s Carbonara, but theirs is made with tonnarelli pasta, Cobble Lane guanciale, Parmesan and pecorino and a St Ewe’s egg yolk. You’ll also find Genovese Ragu made with veal and pork, Monk’s head cheese on paccheri. My favourite was the Silk Handkerchiefs with fresh spring peas, leeks, courgettes, mint, pistachios and a dreamy confit egg yolk. Blissful!
The mains at Noci provide something for everyone. Porchetta with saffron apple puree, courgettes, peas, pistachio and mint; oven-baked Loch Duart salmon with clams, samphire and lemon butter; Aubergine parmigiana with that earthy marinara sauce again; charred monkfish, rainbow chard, olives, Amalfi lemon and pinenuts; and a refreshing, vibrant panzanella salad of Isle of Wight tomatoes, Nocellara olives, peppers and sourdough croutons.
As you can see, British-sourced, seasonal vegetables aren’t treated as the supporting actors here but given equal billing. The peas are sweet and firm. Courgettes soft and ever so slightly, deliciously bitter. Herbs are generous ingredients in themselves rather than decorative. Nothing feels overdone. Everything feels like Italia at its best.
Dessert continues the sunshine narrative. The budino is silky, light and indulgent. Here it leads with an Amalfi lemon posset rather than a creamy custard and is paired with perfectly ripe strawberries and basil. The extra drama of prosecco poured on top certainly brings some theatre to the meal. Meanwhile, vanilla Panna Cotta paired with Wye Valley rhubarb and pistachios is velvety smooth and unctuous, and the Tiramisu – well, let’s just say you need to go and try it. And then perhaps try it again.
Let’s not forget that the Spritz season has also started and Noci is pouring all the favourites, Aperol, Hugo and Yuzu, alongside a few alcohol-free options like Rhubarb that are just as refreshing.
Noci has somehow managed to bottle the feeling of an Italian holiday and capture those long lunches where nobody checks the time, where another bottle mysteriously appears and where the courses are timed so you’re not feeling inflated after just a few bites.
As London swelters through another heatwave, flights to Naples suddenly seem less essential. Simply head to Noci in Islington instead, order a couple of spritzes and fill the table with sharing plates and let Noci transport you south.
Because sometimes the quickest route to Italy isn’t through departures – it with the first bite of outstandingly good focaccia.
4-6 Islington Green, London N1 2XA
For reservations, call 020 3937 5343
More Italian restaurant inspiration in London: Mucci’s, Tiella, Macellaio and Italian Greyhound
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