Book A Table: 0207 132 1212
Monday to Friday: Lunch 12 to 3pm
Dinner 5.00pm to 11pm
Saturday and Sunday: 12pm to 11pm
Book A Table: 0207 132 1212
Monday to Friday: Lunch 12 to 3pm
Dinner 5.00pm to 11pm
Saturday and Sunday: 12pm to 11pm
Nobody does food like the Italians, whether its pasta, pizza, desserts or risotto. And the best thing is that at its heart, Italian cooking is wonderfully simple.
No matter how fancy a recipe is, it always has a simple base to work off, making it easy for anyone to try at home.
Here are some of the classic Italian dishes which you can try for yourself at home, without needing a Michelin star.
Carbonara is a true Italian classic, but the version that you’ve tried in Italian restaurants around the UK is probably not true carbonara.
Our team at Bella Cosa, based in Canary Wharf, love their Italian food and have found many British restaurants often add unnecessary ingredients such as cream, onions, mushrooms and most bizarrely to Italians, chicken.
Instead, a proper Italian carbonara should simply contain pancetta, eggs, hard cheese and black pepper.
We can’t make a list of Italian dishes without including a pizza and the Margherita is the classic basis that every other pizza comes from.
For the base, pour your flour into a large bowl and stir in yeast and salt. Then make a well and pour in 200ml of warm water and olive oil, before bringing together until you’ve got a soft dough which you can knead until smooth and set aside.
For the sauce, mix up passata, basil and crushed garlic, which you can leave to stand while you roll out the dough into your base (this should be left thin as it will rise in the oven).
Finally, smooth the sauce over the base and scatter with cheese and tomato and bake at 220˚C for about eight to ten minutes.
Recipe from The Great British Bake Off
Pesto is a classic Italian sauce which is super easy to mix with pasta for a quick and simple meal.
Start out by reducing garlic and pine nuts into a cream using a pestle and mortar before adding dried basil leaves and salt.
A mixture of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Pecorino cheese is then added, with a dash of extra-virgin olive oil, then stored in a jar or other air-tight container to be left for up to a week, ready to be added to your choice of pasta.
If there’s one Italian dessert that’s more well-known than any others (and super easy to make) it’s tiramisu.
To make it, all you need are some finger biscuits, egg yolks, sugar, coffee, mascarpone cheese and cocoa powder (liqueur and egg whites can also be added).
All you need to do is layers the ingredients up in a bowl or cake tin and leave to chill, simple as that!
Another simple Italian dessert which is a little less known than tiramisu is an authentic chocolate and ricotta cake.
Best of all, these impressive sponges can be made in under an hour too. All you need to do is whisk up some ricotta and sugar, adding the eggs one by one.
Sift flour and baking powder and stir well, before finally stirring in butter, vanilla and chopped chocolate. Pour into a cake tin and bake for about 30 minutes, leave to cool and you’re done!
If you aren’t sure which one to try out, visit our restaurant to try some out for yourself from our delicious menu or perhaps our special offers
We care what our customers think of us and so should you. We are partners in your business and your success is ours in your business.
Authentic Italian food. The pizza was huge considering the price we paid for it and the burrata with pesto was to die for. Would definitely recommend.
Service was excellent... read more
HM11SZ
Stumbled across this resturant when looking for a local place to eat out in Canary Wharf and safe to say we were not disappointed.
A massive thank you to all... read more
Rob_M240798
Beautiful in every sense. - Enjoyed a lovely evening here. A brilliant location and inside was a nice environment and atmosphere. The food was exceptional.
johndavies73
After a day at the Excel a friend and I decided a pizza was the meal of choice. After a quick search of the Canary Wharf area for “best Italian”... read more
ben9076
Ahhh where do I start, the food was so good, so full of flavour. Good options available too.
Great portion size as well.
And that cheesecake was absolutely incredible,... read more
_jia4raj
The food was absolutely amazing, the portions are quite big and the price is good. The staff are all lovely and are keen to action customer requests. The restaurant itself... read more
jrony9
The restaurant was amazing and the food was very nice, a true Italian restaurant. The staff were extraordinary and there are amazing views of the river.
Luanaapez
Food was out quick, garlic bread starter is a must! The staff couldn’t be nicer, organised a free taxi to the restaurant and brought out a free dessert for my... read more
mattmecw
Excellent restaurant, the food was very nice and the service was outstanding. We were served by Jimmy and Narcisa, and they were very nice and really professional and quick to... read more
375salimh
I recently booked a large table here for 19 people. The restaurant were very diligent in keeping with anti-COVID 19 regulations. The staff were all very friendly and the food... read more
Nerixo95
Monday to Friday: Lunch 12 to 3pm Dinner 5.00pm to 11pm Saturday and Sunday: 12pm to 11pm
