London is full to the brim with brilliant Italian restaurants, from tucked-away trattorias to high-end dining rooms. This means that it has become increasingly important for an Italian restaurant to offer something different to stand out from the crowd. Luca in Farringdon has been doing exactly that since it threw open its doors in 2016.

Set up by The Clove Club founders Johnny Smith and Daniel Willis, Luca’s kitchen is overseen by chef Robert Chambers, who has taken influence from his ‘Britalian’ heritage to create a menu that champions British produce while putting spins on classic Italian dishes. As you’d expect from restaurateurs with the experience of Smith and Willis, just as much attention has been given to the feel of the restaurant as the food. Luca’s expansive dining room is split into several distinct spaces: at the front sits a cosy bar area with counter seating, while at the back lies a much airier room (featuring floor-to-ceiling windows) and outside, a gorgeous, creeper-covered walled terrace with a retractable roof.

Luca’s regularly changing menu, as you might expect, comes divided into antipasti, primi and secondi, but diners can also opt for a prix fixe menu and let the chef decide. Snacks such as Parmesan fries, which have become somewhat of a signature dish, begin proceedings, while antipasti such as Hereford beef tartare cured in Nebbiolo, and burrata with broad bean pesto beautifully showcase the restaurant’s ‘Britalian’ ethos. Larger plates might include Chambers’ own take on a carbonara featuring egg yolk agnolotti, or less traditionally Italian dishes like Hebridean lamb with morels, while desserts are kept simpler – the likes of tiramisu take centre stage. An Italian-led wine list appropriately accompanies the food, with postprandial options including an impressive selection of grappa, and a number of house cocktails including Luca’s own take on a martini using white tea vermouth.

By placing the focus on British produce and not being afraid to tinker with the classics that appear on so many Italian menus, the team at Luca have created a restaurant with all the heart of a traditional trattoria - with food that's far from rustic.