Lena

All the buzz preceded Lena before it opened in the old Lock’s site in Portobello at the start of 2025 - little surprise considering owners Liz Matthew, Simon Barrett and Paul McNamara are also behind Uno Mas. The neighbourhood Italian manages to remain laid back while transporting you abruptly to the land of lardo, hand-rolled pici and osso bucco with saffron risotto, and the wine list is a compendium of everything Italian. Bookings are hard to come by so this one will take organisation, or flexibility.