Hot off the press

Read all about it! Our Fitzrovia restaurant has been winning plaudits from the press since opening this summer.

There are sneaky hints of the old “fine dining” here — the chef Jamie Halsall has a bit of form on the fancy-pants front, and it seeps out every now and then. That flourish of “giardiniera” salad, truffle sightings, the emulsions, the “hazelnut agrodolce” with the sea bass. Our tortelloni, stuffed with a delicate, almost liquid pea puree, is accessorised by petals of Tropea onion, fresh peas that pop happily in the mouth, pea shoots and the teeniest dice of mortadella. There’s a lot going on. This is not a complaint: basic pasta is good, elevated pasta is also good.

Here’s to eating, drinking, laughing, being alive. Cin cin.

Marina O’Loughlin, The Times

Cin Cin started life as a Brighton street food destination based in a 1972 Fiat 850 van. As its popularity grew, founder David Toscano decided to throw in his day job as a lawyer and open his first restaurant with head chef Jamie Halsall. Next came accolades and a cult following and the duo opened their second restaurant, this time in Hove, in 2018. Since then, Cin Cin has become famed for its outstanding cooking, excellent service and for creating an intimate local restaurant feel in both outposts. In Brighton, it is everyone’s favourite place to sink a delicious bowl of pasta washed down by a Cin Cin Bellini. For summer 2021, this much-loved dining spot has arrived in London’s Fitzrovia where it has managed to recreate the same intimate neighbourly atmosphere that made it a hit on the south coast. The staff are warm and welcoming, and the food is top rate. Even the small starter dishes, the olives and tomatoes, are excellent, tasting the way they ought to not bland and flavourless which can be the case in the UK.

Do yourself a favour and order the gnocchi cacio e pepe – a perfectly cooked dish that will no doubt attract repeat diners.

Harper’s Bazaar

For food-obsessed Londoners, it can be easy to forget the bounties that lie in wait in coastal towns and cities an hour or two away, and while Brighton’s food scene has always been decent, the last decade or so has seen more than a handful of excellent destination and neighbourhood restaurants open up, and a food scene that’s quietly excelled under its own steam. Now, a fair few years after Cin Cin’s two beachside Brighton restaurants opened up, founder David Toscano and head chef Jamie Halsall have brought its artful Italian fresh pasta and sharing plates up the A23 to Foley Street.

A beautiful blend of richness offset by freshness, and pretty much summer on a plate.

Mike Gibson, Foodism

The specials board captured our attention immediately: crudo with orange, fennel rabbit cacciatore, green olive and soft polenta; bigoli with anchovy, lemon, chilli and focaccia crumb; lemon meringue pie, blood orange sorbet. Cin Cin’s menu uses the best of British ingredients such as Blythburgh pork and south coast crab, Italian style, along with twists on classics including gnocchi cacio e pepe with Trombetta courgettes, burrata with truffled prosciutto and a Marinda tomato salad with lambrusco marinade that’s a must-order. Start with a glass of Franciacorta (Italy’s answer to champagne and a step up from prosecco) or the house negroni featuring Australian Regal red vermouth and rhubarb bitters, a nod to the owner’s Sydney heritage. Décor is relaxed and there are plenty of outdoor tables in this buzzy part of Fitzrovia, not far from Oxford Street

Casual Italian using the best of British ingredients.

Olive Magazine