Italian chefs in London warn against chicken pasta, cream carbonara and garlic bread

Two London chefs name the dishes to avoid

Two Italian chefs working in London have told the Daily Mail which dishes diners should skip at Italian restaurants. Roberto Roncolato is head chef at The Franklin in Knightsbridge and The Pelham in South Kensington, both part of the Starhotels Collezione group. He grew up near Verona and trained in kitchens with Michelin stars. Diego Reali owns the Stefania restaurant in London and was raised in Rome. Both argue that the dishes they flag can expose a kitchen that relies on shortcuts or caters mainly to tourists.

Roncolato's starting point is that Italian cooking rests on good ingredients prepared simply. He accepts that a chef may add a creative touch to a classic dish, but draws a firm line between reinventing a recipe and faking it.

Pasta, carbonara and bread

Roncolato says chicken with pasta is not part of Italian tradition, since meat is normally served separately from the pasta. A penne with chicken in a creamy sauce, in his view, suggests a menu built around cheap ingredients and easy dishes rather than tradition. He also flags spaghetti bolognese, which he says is not served in Bologna, where the ragù is cooked slowly for hours and served with fresh egg tagliatelle. Seeing it on a menu may point to a kitchen cooking for visitors rather than locals.

Carbonara is the third warning. The authentic version uses egg yolk, guanciale (cured pork cheek), pecorino and black pepper, and gets its creamy texture from technique rather than cream. Cream, he says, is often a shortcut or a sign that the sauce was made in advance in large batches. Garlic bread draws similar criticism: he says it is not a genuinely Italian dish and is often frozen. Instead he recommends bruschetta or focaccia made in the restaurant.

Timing and menu signals

Roncolato also uses service time as a clue. A properly made risotto takes about 18 minutes, with the stock added gradually and the rice stirred continuously. A risotto that reaches the table within five minutes may have been part-cooked earlier and reheated. Menu length is another warning sign. In his view, a menu of 60 dishes cannot all be fresh. Pizza loaded with too many toppings may hide a weak base, and seafood pasta drowned in heavy sauces falls into the same category, according to the two chefs.

What to order instead

Reali recommends short menus that change with the season. Roncolato suggests testing a pizza with a Margherita of tomato, mozzarella and basil, since a well-made one, he says, reveals a lot about the kitchen. Cacio e pepe, made only with pecorino, black pepper and pasta water, is another test. Reali says that if the sauce is smooth, balanced and clings to the pasta, the chef has mastered the technique. The chefs also point to fresh pasta made in-house, seasonal vegetables such as Roman-style artichokes and house-made desserts. For tiramisu, Roncolato suggests asking whether the restaurant bakes its own ladyfinger biscuits.