Out of relatively nowhere, London stalwart The River Cafe has decided that now is the time to expand - and they're opening a new restaurant called Sylvia's.

They're not moving too far away from their own back yard though, as it'll be making use of the old meeting rooms at (River Cafe owner Ruth Rogers husband) Richard Rogers Architects. In an email sent by River Cafe, they say:

The menu will have great pastas, risottos and soups,

The original Golden Gai was a six-seater bar in Angelina in Dalston. This Soho spin-off is a much larger affair but will continue the mix of Italian and Japanese flavours in the food and drink. 

Already opened as a shop, CasaCosta in Fulham also has a hidden Italian restaurant at the back. 

This new Covent Garden Italian sees top chef Paul Robinson inspired by Northern Italy from the nduja pizzas for breakfast through to hand-rolled pasta for dinner.

It's all change for the restaurant at The Henrietta in Covent Garden, We've already talked about the return of the very Christmassy Miracle pop-up, but there's also a change to their restaurant, which is relaunching as Da Henrietta. 

That will now be headed up by Italian Supper

We take the new delivery-only restaurant from Big Mamma Group for a spin with its pizza, antipasta, towering desserts and more. 

The team behind Chiswick deli and pizzeria, The Italians, are preparing for a Marylebone opening this winter. The Italians' new home on Devonshire Street will be a wine bar and bistro.

As with their Chiswick site, the key thing will be the sourcing of top drawer Italian food and drink. The all Italian wine list will change seasonally and there'll be loads available by the glass. They'll be baking focaccia fresh in-house

London's pasta scene could not be hotter right now - with everywhere from no reservation spots to fine dining restaurants doing great business. We pick out the best pasta to be had in the city.

Islington's Chapel Bar, most recently a private-hire space, is about to open a new restaurant for autumn. Called Arenella, it's being described as an autumnal terrace that will be open every weekend. 

The Chapel Bar team have previous in the business, having also been behind the now-closed Sicilian restaurant Lena in Shoreditch which was named after owner Alessandro Rotta's Sicilian mum. Arenella is named

A Hot Dinners exclusive

Pretty much perfectly timed for a week in which we're all waiting for the hammer of lockdown to drop, comes news from Big Mamma. The team who opened the big-hitting OTT restaurants Gloria and Circolo Popolare are launching their first delivery-only restaurant.

Napoli Gang starts delivering this Wednesday, kicking off from a kitchen in Shoreditch. Kentish Town comes on board next week and they're

Will Giannino Dal 1899 be the restaurant to succeed at this spot in Mayfair? They're hoping that the long lineage of the Milanese original will entice Londoners to try it.

Over the many, boring weeks of lockdown, we spent a lot of time on our daily prescribed walk going past the old Dear Pizza spot on Highbury Barn, wondering what new restaurant was opening there.

Now we know - it's Donna Sofia - an Italian restaurant and pizzeria from the folk next door at Da Mario deli. They're serving up a range of antipasti, pasta, mains and pizzas.

On the menu you'll find:

• Toasted sourdough

Louis Korovilas was head chef of Bancone and has now moved onto his new restaurant Tavolino, on the south bank of the Thames with impressive views of the river. There he'll be bringing an impeccably-sourced menu of Italian pasta, pizza and lots more.

We've known for some time, well before the lockdown, that Islington's Trullo (sister restaurant to Padella) had bought the shop next door. It was kept empty for a while - but now we finally have some info on what's being planned, just as they've reached their 10th birthday. 

Now they've unveiled the Trullo deli. We're told to expect "all the things you love about Trullo for you to take home." So there are

If you're looking to stock up on Italian groceries and have Angela Hartnett cook you pasta-to-go, then right now Cafe Murano Bermondsey is where it's at.