Review: Da Mario, Kensington

They’ve been serving Italian food at Da Mario in leafy Kensington for decades and decades. It is exactly what you would expect from an antique London Italian restaurant, from the mish-mash of old furniture to the photos of famous visitors on the walls alongside pictures of glorious bits of the mother country. At Da Mario they get to include Princess Di among their roll of honour. The menu is packed with all the classic pastas, pizzas and extras that you’d expect.

We shared an aubergine parmigiana to start, and it was exactly what you’d want: the decadently herby-oily cheese and tomato flavour with some aubergine hiding in there somewhere. Maureen had the rigatone amatriciana for main, and the tomato sauce had a smoky depth of flavour special to Italian restaurants that I’ve never been able to replicate as a home cook. My rigatone with mushrooms and chunks of parma ham in a cream sauce was also excellent, the ideal bite to the pasta and a warm glow from the nicely balanced sauce. Rich and satisfying.

Wine by the glass was great quality at a ridiculously cheap price for Kensington, clearly knowledgeably sourced through many years of experience. With pastas around £15 and starters around a tenner, two courses for £25 is clearly splendid value pretty much anywhere in the country, let alone here. It’s trad, for sure, but in an area renowned for having nowhere much to eat it’s well worth knowing Da Marios.