The sheer size of London can create a paradox of choice for restaurant-goers and businesses choosing locations. Smaller neighbourhoods are always the way to resolve decision paralysis and are often more enjoyable than central London anyway. Take, for instance, Fortress Road near Tufnell Park station, with its collection of independent restaurants, including my beloved Authentique Epicerie which has remained a Brexit-free zone of French loveliness ever since 2018. Diagonally opposite Authentique is La Tana, which you could easily walk past without paying attention to it, or dismiss it as a pop-up, but that does a disservice to the wonders therein.
I love an intimate restaurant run by just two people. At La Tana chef Alessandro Napoli is on the stoves and Aida Martinez front of house, a set-up that reminds me of the wonderful Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham (where Helen and David Everitt-Matthias have run their restaurant as a husband-and-wife team every working day since 1987), only at La Tana there are no tablecloths or 90s décor. Indeed, there isn’t much décor at all at La Tana but then that means there is nothing to distract you from the food.
As for the food, Napoli draws on his experience in high-end restaurants to produce a form of neighbourhood fine-dining, albeit in a very casual setting (not unlike the sorely-missed Odette’s in Primrose Hill). Unsurprisingly the cuisine is principally Italian but with premium British ingredients and an element of fusion – on paper, this may seem a bit too ambitious for Tufnell Park but every dish I tried here was technically accomplished and delicious.
This is an utterly delightful little restaurant
Their seven course tasting menu at £65 has to be one of the best value tasting menus in London, though advertising this in the window may be a bit off-putting for passers-by expecting bowls of pasta. The hard church-like seats may also become a challenge after the fifth course but this is a minor ergonomic issue which could be easily resolved with cushions. In any case, you can go à la carte if you wish.
Perhaps there could be more in the snacks or little bites department while you wait, and my Negroni could’ve been colder (one ice cube will never be enough), but the focaccia with miso butter was perfectly sufficient.
As for the meal proper, a hand-dived Orkney scallop with melon and dulse seaweed (£17) appeared deceptively simple but was a masterclass in seafood cookery. Napoli had somehow intensified the flavour of the melon while retaining its texture and just gently cooking the scallop (complete with coral), leaving a jus in the scallop shell for drinking directly thereafter.
Hand-dived Orkney scallop
Arborio rice, saffron and sumac
Gower salt marsh lamb and agrodolce lentils
Rice and pasta feature in the primi selection with dishes such as fregola with broad beans and pecorino romano (£18). My arborio rice with saffron and sumac (£18) – essentially a Milanese risotto – had the requisite yellow colour and al dente texture of the rice while the spicing was subtle. For an interesting touch, it was served with some toasted rice (more for presentation if anything else).
Sticking with British ingredients, the Gower salt marsh lamb with agrodolce lentils (£27) was astoundingly excellent. I’ve had many a rustic braised lentil dish in my time and most have tended to be a bit dry and flavourless; this was the opposite, almost risotto-esque in a lip-smacking reduced sweet and sour sauce that complemented the lamb. And all of this is even more impressive considering Napoli multi-tasks on his own in the kitchen and serves half the dishes to you directly.
The dessert selection is consistent with the restaurant’s “less is more” philosophy (and natural constraints of such a small space) with the occasional avant-garde twist on a classic. Here, a tiramisù (£10) was presented as a little dome like a Tunnock’s tea cake (though I don’t think that comparison was the intention). There will always be different schools of thought about this dessert and whether it should be scooped out from a bowl family-style or whether one should even try to refine it (but please never “deconstruct” it). While the version at La Tana is small, and maybe too perfectly formed, the flavour and texture were exactly as you’d expect of a great tiramisù.
Wine and drinks selection may also be a bit limited but what they have has been carefully chosen to complement the dishes. I noted their corkage policy is a very reasonable £20. And for coffee, you have to love somewhere that gives you a large moka pot to serve yourself as you please followed by a cheeky grappa.
Sometimes you want to gatekeep places like this but La Tana deserves to have wider coverage. In a city where it’s tempting to follow the model of certain corporate Italian restaurants with their giant lasagnes and maximalist design (which are really a magnet for customers who go just to be seen), you can be more like La Tana where the food and service are founded on the love of produce, cooking and hospitality. This is an utterly delightful little restaurant.
127 Fortress Road
London
NW5 2HR
September 2026
