What The Buzz Gets Right And Wrong At Osteria Angelina

Osteria Angelina has to be one of the most hyped restaurants in London today. From TikTok to Reddit, the praise for this Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant is off the charts. So much so, that by the time we sit down for our lunch reservation, we’re already expecting something close to greatness.

But is Osteria Angelina worth all the praise?

Having had lunch here, we’d say… approach with caution.

While parts of the Osteria Angelina menu absolutely deliver, the overall experience doesn’t quite justify the volume of praise surrounding it.

This isn’t a takedown restaurant review. Osteria Angelina in Shoreditch is good. In places, it’s very good. But it’s also inconsistent, and that inconsistency is what stops it from matching its own hype.

Some dishes are genuinely memorable. Others feel under-thought, oddly unbalanced, or simply less exciting than they sound. When you put it all together, it becomes clear that knowing what to order here matters a lot.

Quick info before you order anything

• Restaurant: Osteria Angelina
• Where: Shoreditch, London
• Vibe: Polished, relaxed, built for lingering
• Absolutely order: raw Hamachi with truffle soy, fazzoletti pasta with duck ragu, sesame panna cotta with blood orange
• Skip: Tuna crudo, spring onion tempura, most of the grill section
• Best seats: Counter seating if you enjoy watching chefs plate

Read our Osteria Angelina restaurant review to find out more.

First impressions of Osteria Angelina

I’m here for lunch, meeting a decades-old friend I’ve always shared a love of interesting restaurants with, which already raises the stakes slightly.

We arrive right as Osteria Angelina opens at midday, and the first thing that hits us is the smell. There’s a char in the air. It’s smoky, warm, and suggestive of confidence. It feels deliberate, like a promise.

The space itself is lovely, all done up in veined marble and taupe leather. Service is calm and welcoming, and we’re not rushed. Tables are generous, chairs are genuinely comfortable, and the banquettes invite you to settle in properly. This is a restaurant designed for long lunches, and that part of the experience absolutely delivers.

Milk bread that almost sets the tone

We start with the Hokkaido milk bread, served with jam and burnt honey butter. The bread itself is lovely. It’s soft and fluffy inside, delicately toasted outside, and very easy to keep pulling apart.

The burnt honey butter is rich and indulgent, exactly what you want here.

The jam, though, is too sharp. Instead of lifting the bread, it distracts from it. Interestingly, the bread finds its best use later on, when we mop up the sauce from the hamachi crudo. That pairing works far better than the jam ever does.

Raw hamachi is the best thing we order today

The raw hamachi with truffle soy and furikake is an excellent. If only everything we on the Osteria Angelina menu was just as good.

The hamachi is delicate and silky, dressed in a deeply savoury sauce that manages to incorporate truffle without letting it dominate. I had expected the truffle to overwhelm the fish. It doesn’t. Instead, it adds depth and richness, while the furikake brings texture and umami.

Every bite feels balanced and intentional. I could eat this dish repeatedly without getting bored. It’s the clear standout of this Osteria Angelina review and the strongest argument for coming here at all.

If you order one thing from the Osteria Angelina menu, make it this. Or better yet, order two.

Tuna crudo that doesn’t get it right

The raw tuna with house ponzu and wasabi follows, and unfortunately it can’t live up to what came before.

The tuna itself is clean but almost flavourless. All the impact is concentrated in a single dot of wasabi placed on top. Until you hit it, the dish feels flat. When you do, it overwhelms everything else.

This idea of flavour being delivered in one sharp hit rather than woven through the dish becomes a recurring theme later on. Here, it simply doesn’t work.

I wouldn’t order this from the Osteria Angelina menu again. It’s not offensive, just disappointing, especially when the hamachi exists on the same menu.

Tempura that gets oilier the more you eat it

The spring onion tempura with black garlic starts promisingly. The first bite is crisp, savoury, and satisfying, particularly when dragged through the garlic sauce.

But the grease quickly builds up. So much so, that by the halfway point, it feels heavy, and enthusiasm drops off fast.

It’s hard not to think about a similar dish at a different restaurant – the courgette tempura with black garlic sauce at Bottarga – which is cleaner, lighter, and far more balanced. There, the sauce feels robust and intentional. Here, the dish overstays its welcome.

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Pasta is where Osteria Angelina regains its footing

The tagliolini with tuna, mentaiko, and kombu cured caviar is deeply umami and satisfying. The sauce clings beautifully to the fresh pasta, and the caviar adds bright pops of salinity.

It’s very good, though not necessarily something I’d rush to reorder.

The fazzoletti with duck ragu and lotus, however, is a clear win. The ragu is deep, smoky, and intensely meaty, and the wide sheets of pasta feel luxurious swathed in sauce. This is comfort food done with confidence.

I loved this dish. I would happily come back for it.

Things go downhill with the grill

The grill section of the Osteria Angelina menu is where the experience becomes less reliable.

The ox tongue with kizami wasabi is a miss for me. The tongue is robust and almost gamey, with fatty, sinewy bits throughout. And, once again, the wasabi is concentrated in one place, creating an uneven and jarring eating experience.

The grilled Cornish brill from the sharing section looks promising and is generously sized, easily enough for three people. The flesh is beautifully cooked inside, flaky and well seasoned.

But the skin is burnt in places, and the wasabi topping sits directly on it. That leaves you choosing between burnt skin with wasabi or abandoning the skin altogether – and a large part of the flavour offering with it.

But, by now, the repeated reliance on punchy wasabi feels heavy-handed rather than thoughtful. So it’s not a huge loss.

Kinako cheesecake – and a comparison it doesn’t win

The kinako cheesecake with matcha gelato arrives sounding like a guaranteed hit, especially because it closely mirrors one of my friend’s favourite desserts in London and, truthfully, one of mine too: the kinako French toast with matcha soft serve at Shackfuyu.

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That comparison is unavoidable, and unfortunately, it doesn’t work in Osteria Angelina’s favour.

The cheesecake is dense and one-note, lacking the textural excitement that makes the Shackfuyu dessert so memorable. The torched sugar on top gestures towards creme brulee but doesn’t deliver enough crunch, and you don’t get it consistently in every bite. The matcha gelato is pleasant, but it’s not soft serve, and once you know how good that version can be, this feels like a compromise.

If you’re going to echo an iconic dessert this closely, you have to beat it. Otherwise, you leave the diner thinking about where they’ve had it done better.

A great sesame panna cotta

The sesame panna cotta with blood orange is a much stronger finish.

Silky, rich panna cotta pairs beautifully with the bright acidity of the blood orange, while the black sesame crumble adds depth, smokiness, and savoury complexity. Everything feels balanced and considered.

This is a dessert I’d happily order again, and one of the better things we eat all lunch.

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So is Osteria Angelina worth the hype?

There is a lot to like on the Osteria Angelina menu. The hamachi is outstanding, and the duck ragu pasta is deeply satisfying. The space is comfortable, calm, and ideal for long lunches.

But there’s also inconsistency. The grill underperforms, and the menu sometimes over-relies on wasabi, which is often heavy-handed. Some dishes feel less resolved than others. And that’s where the hype starts to feel louder than the food.

So our advice – go in knowing what to order, keep expectations measured, and you’ll have a good time. Just don’t expect every dish to justify the buzz surrounding Osteria Angelina in Shoreditch.

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Osteria Angelina restaurant review
Address – 1, Nicholls Clarke Yard, London E1 6SH
Nearest Tube – Liverpool Street