Il Guscio Highbury in Islington

I could not rate this place highly enough!! We turned up last minute on a Saturday evening and needed some where for a large group for a surprise birthday party that was happening in 30 mins time!! The staff sorted everything for us and gave a fantastic table by the window and were so friendly. They all sang happy birthday to my friend and got the whole restaurant going! They brought out limoncello for everyone and a pudding for the birthday girl. The wine was lovely and food was absolutely delicious (loved the mushroom truffle pappardelle!!) and reasonably priced Thank you so much for a special evening - we will be back!!!!

Delicious pizzas. As a special bonus, there were free-roaming foxes on the roof.

Service below par. First time we went it was ok, second time, awful. Asked for cheese for my pasta and the waiter heaped 3 spoons on top and then chucked the bowl on the table. Ruined the already very average meal. The whole experience made us feel very unwelcome. Disappointing, wouldn’t go back.

Always delicious food. One of our local favourite’s.

My experience at Il Guscio was one of the best birthday's I've ever had!! Carlos was so accommodating to me and my friends needs, including dietary requirements and was very communicative beforehand which put my mind at ease and allowed me to enjoy the night with all my loved ones. The food was fantastic and very reasonably priced. I couldn't recommend this restaurant enough, they make you feel part of the family! Thank you Carlos!

Very good pizza. Highly recommended

The Best in London enjoy for Italian food

Just the kind of restaurant I love - amazing food, cute decor and lovely atmosphere. We had a warm welcome and great service throughout :)

Relaxed Italian restaurant, very friendly staff and the food is comforting and tasty.

The pizzas were good. We shared the house pizza il Guscio between 2 while our grandson had his usual margarita. The 5 stars are for the atmosphere created by the owner and staff. Friday night is pizza night for many families and you could be anywhere in Italy!

Excellent service, and the best Italian food I've had in London so far! And even the house red is quite ok for England! Update 2023: food seemed somewhat less delicious than I remembered, and what cost them a star in the update is that they now add an additional 12.5% service charge to the bill without declaring. I gladly pay a tip if food and service are good, But I think it's a sign of very bad business practice to effectively raise prices without transparently declaring it. Big shame Il Guscio is going into that direction.

Our ride or die Italian restaurant in North London! We love it here. Always fantastic friendly service and amazing food. Never let us down

The pizza is very good!! The owner is very friendly and caring for hi customers!

I have been going to this restaurant for many years and it never fails to deliver. From birthdays to pre or post football match meals the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming, the staff are better than good and the food is incredible. This place is an absolute gem and I would highly recommend a visit if you get the opportunity.

been in the area for about 6 months, didn't know of this place before. this takes me back to Italy 🇮🇹 . I love the rear garden, nice decoration and you can smell the delicious pizzas 🍕 😋

New to neighborhood. Loved our first choice of restaurant.

The fish was quite small and not very tasty. A bit plain. Not really seasoned at all. The broccoli and the beans on the side were cold. Not a great value for £20

The Staff are so kind and the service it's great and the food it's really tasty

Arriba, abajo, al centro, pa' dentro! Amazing food, great service, highly recommend!

Amazing meal last night in this local Italian restaurant. My wife really enjoyed her Pappardelle fungi with truffle oil. The special Gabriel Jesus pizza was just what I needed. Highly recommended...

Great meal last night. Thanks:)

I'm reading the reviews and wondering whether we ate at the same restaurant. The food was below average at best and the prices were unrealistic for the quality of food you get. The takeaway leftovers went straight to the bin - never happened to me before in my life. We left feeling disappointed. Will not return.

Utrolig koselig restaurant med veldig hyggelig personale. Carlos har gjort alt for å føle oss velkommen

Excellent food , great neighbourhood restaurant .

Good food fresh specialy fish youcan taste the sea in your plate if you don't try at list one time you don't know what you miss friendly management place very welcoming and service100% unforgetable just try and you comeback all tge time

Fantastic restaurant my dad and I have been many times great food and the service is always so friendly and personal!

Prompt and friendly service. Authentic offerings -- gnocchi is terrific! Generous wine pours and interesting options. Incredibly friendly! Warm, clean environment. Great for casual or celebration. Date night. (Cleanest bathrooms we saw all vacation).

This place is everything you want from a neighbourhood restaurant. Exceptionally friendly and welcoming staff, vibey yet relaxed atmosphere, unpretentious yet consistently satisfying food, and there’s always a drink on the house. It’s impossible not to have a great evening here.

Honestly, lovely staff - friendly and professional, but the food was average. It will fill you up nicely, though that little extra in taste was just missing for us (lasagna & pasta dish).

Below average food. Plentiful, but either bland or over salted

An excellent pre-match lunch with my son. Never fails to deliver with great service and great food. Well done everyone.

Food and atmosphere was great. Staff was warm and welcoming!

I really recommend this place…!! Food is amazing and stuff are very friendly ✋✋

The food was amazing and the service was 10/10 Brilliant staff, definitely recommend anyone to go have a meal here!!!

Very enjoyable local Italian with friendly staff and nice food

The food was lovely, all freshly cooked with decent portion sizes and priced reasonably, so I would recommend it. The only thing I noticed was that the server appeared a bit off, not very welcoming or warm, and hardly smiled but did a good job taking orders and bringing our food over.

A really nice restaurant which was the perfect destination ahead of a concert at the Emirates. The pizzas were spot on. Friendly staff and reasonable prices. A lovely place.

Very near the stadium , went before a concert. Really nice pizza and pasta. Decent service. Was busy so worth booking rather than turning up.

Absolutely beautiful restaurant. The food was 10/10 thoroughly impressed. The spicy arancini was devine.. The owner Carlos and his son were amazing so nice and friendly , warm and welcoming, made our night ever so special . Can't wait to come back a real gem this place .

Our party of five had pizzas, liver & bacon and a pasta dish. Everyone was very happy with their food. House red was good. Service was helpful and friendly. An excellent, relaxed local Italian restaurant.

I have been coming to Il Guscio regularly since it opened, with my kids and with friends and family. It is the perfect neighbourhood restaurant. Carlos and the team go out of their way to make you feel welcome, the food and wine is always delicious, and you never feel rushed here. Il Guscio is a gem ❤️

It was my first time in London and my friends and I craved Italian. We wanted to go out for dinner but somewhere close to our Airbnb and stumbled upon this place… We hit the jackpot. Our first night we had 3 pizzas and a pasta. Their special, Pizza Picante, was to die for. And their chocolate soufflé??? I’ve never tasted anything so rich, so delicious as that soufflé. We enjoyed the ambiance so much and the staff, that we made a reservation for our last night. Let me just say that Carlos, is the sweetest and most attentive person and made both of our visits feel amazing. I highly recommend this place and the shots of Limoncello and Amaretto? Perfection. Will come again when I’m back!

One of my favourite Italian restaurants I have visited in London. Amazing food, so much to choose from. What stood out was the service we received from Carlos and Ali for the food and drinks. They made it such a friendly and fun experience, we felt so welcome and definitely can’t wait to go back. Would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone based in London.

Had an amazing time today a lunch time with my son at Il Guscio. Great Pizza Bufalina.

I do not recommend and won’t come back. We came we friends following the good reviews. Food was really not exiting and poorly executed - I remove 7 table spoons of oil from my pasta! I also got sick all night after. Service was good.

Very large portions of delicious Italian cuisine and excellent service, will definitely be back !!

Every single plate and drink we had was wonderful, the service was excellent and atmosphere was great. Thanks Carlos and team - we’ll be back again!

I came here for a birthday meal and it was wonderful. Delicious starter and main (too full for a dessert!) with lovely, fresh and tasty ingredients, plus a good bottle of house red to wash it down. Good value for money, friendly and helpful staff. The restaurant is unpretentious and has a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere. I'll definitely be coming back for more!

We were visiting family who stay nearby and they suggested going here. They hadn't been before but had heard good reports. Surprisingly for a Monday evening, there were quite a few other diners. All the food we chose was well prepared and served with a smile. Staff were friendly and efficient and happy to help.

One of the best local spots - lovely staff, always very welcoming. Also great food and atmosphere

Tout est bon dans les assiettes et l'équipe est très sympathique.

I LOVE this place. The atmosphere, the food, the people but most importantly the service, is absolutely brilliant. If you are looking for quality food and excellent service then IL Guscio is the place to visit! You will not be disappointed.

Strongly recommend this restaurant 👌 very professional and helpful staff food is delicious and offers a varied menu

Our regular pre football restaurant. Food excellent and the best host. Wouldn’t go anywhere else

Authentic Italian food, friendly, large portions, good price/quality ratio

We turned up very late thinking there was a slim chance we might be able to get some pizzas. The staff were so kind and friendly to us and let us sit in to enjoy them. I had the GUSCIO which was delicious. The sausage had lots of flavour and the aubergine tasted great too, all on an authentic base. Ultimately it’s a great vibe and based on the excellent service we were kindly offered I’ll be back again.

Superb pizzas. Great staff. Thoroughly recommended.

This place is outstanding I really loved my meal. It was prepared with love and care and tasted wonderful. I will be definitely coming back.

This is a fabulous pizza place. Great pizza value for money . Excellent service

Very tasty and sweat food. Good service

Had a lovely meal here. Very cozy restaurant, lovely staff and very nice atmosphere. Food was really tasty.. would highly recommend 👌

Food, service and atmosphere is brilliant in this little independent Italian restaurant. The pizzas are second-to-none (and they do them, and all other dishes, as take away, too)! Prices are reasonable and portion-sizes decent. The wine list is good, but beer/cider has limited choice.

This is my 5th visit to Il Guscio and I honestly can’t fault it! The food is delicious - I had the Quattro Formaggio pizza which was cooked to perfection. Great atmosphere and ambience. The best bit about the restaurant is the brilliant service. Carlos and all his staff are attentive, friendly and make every visit there memorable. I can’t wait to visit again. Recommend it to everyone.

Perfect little restaurant. Delicious pizza and a funny waiter. Love to come back soon.

Lovely, good value food, great service and atmosphere. Will happily come back!

Very tasty meal, great place to take family and friends. Highly recommended.

Fantastic experience at Il Guscio. We enjoyed our meals and the atmosphere. We also appreciated the staff and Carlos took great care of us!

So I got the cabaronna which was served well, I would of wanted a bit more cheese myself. Its a very nice quaint place. Quiet when it's just myself and my son. But overall a lovely spot to have dinner and the end of s long day.

Really good atmosphere and friendly staff. Good authentic Italian food with the specials changing regularly.

Incredible attentive staff and exquisite food and drink selection

La comida estaba bien pero es muy caro

Pizza, delicious. Peroni, crispy. Waitress, Peng.

Possibly the most welcoming, accommodating & hospitable restaurant I have ever been too. Not to mention the absolutely wonderful food - honestly could not have asked for a more enjoyable dining experience. After an all day event we arrived quite late and were instantly welcomed with big smiles and seated straight away. The food was faultless and of the highest quality. The staff were absolutely fabulous - even offering a phone charger to us when they knew we’d been at an event all day & had a train to catch. I just wish I lived nearer so we could return more often!

Overpriced and very average food. Very slow/ bad service. Nothing good about it at all.

Overall, a nice restaurant. We had the bruschetta (which was excellent), the green salad (fresh but without any dressing) and the pesto and burrata pasta. We’ll be back to try something else.

Some of the best pizza I had in a long time. Excellent service and atmosphere

Service and real Italian food. Fantastic!

Amazing strozzapreti with pesto and a big old burrata ball plopped on top, yum yum yum.

We live locally so we often come here and I just wanted to write a review to say how awesome it is! This may be a local place but the food is truly delicious and the specials are always great! Staff are lovely too and always lovely to my kids.

Great italien food, warm and kind Atmosphere, friendly Service.

I have the best time, service is really good. The food is incredible and very fresh. The atmosphere is nice and very welcoming.

Absolutely wonderful family oriented Italian restaurant. Friendly service from the moment you enter until the moment you leave (satisfied). I have visited many times now sampling many dishes from the refreshingly uncomplicated menu and have never been disappointed. I couldn’t recommend highly enough!

First time in this restaurant. I really recommend it, I tried two Sardinian dishes for the first time and they were amazing. Great customer service and atmosphere 😍

Decent little restaurant, waiter was super friendly. Nicely dim lit. Atmosphere 10/10, food 7/10. We got the spag bol and pesto pasta. Might have not been adventurous enough. Pasta was Al dente, which I like but by partner didn’t It’s a good simple people pleaser

I don’t usually eat pasta and we’ve been living on Indian takeaways since covid. Last night was Valentine’s Day and I fancied a tiramisu. We live local and I’ve often thought this small restaurant looked worth a visit but we don’t go out much. So last night I placed an order. It was exquisite. We had 2 starters that were huge, a pasta dish and the tiramisu. The last time I had eggplant parmigiana was in New York and this was just as delicious. Hopefully when things get back to normal we can venture out properly

Lovely little restaurant and food was great. Nice ambience with lovely staff!

Our football Christmas meal. Service exceptional, Peroni and red wine, food unbelievable and delicious. Staff so friendly, helpful and added to our enjoyment. No wonder it is a local favourite and deserves six stars. Will definitely be back in the New Year. Congratulazioni

Fantastic place! Highly recommend! Thanks Carlos!

Great vibe and very welcoming. Loved our waiter Carlos, he had great banter.

Great food and staff are just so warm friendly and really take good care of you , always a warm welcome , cozy candle light restaurant just love it, ✨

Nice food thanks and best staff definitely i will go again.

Nice food, good service. Not cheap (wasn't expecting it to be), but definitely not overpriced either. Would definitely recommend.

Excellent. Tasty food, pleasent staff. Recommend

Been coming here for many years. New management are excellent and the restaurant is as good as it’s ever been. Excellent choices, especially the pizza and pasta

Fabulous food and very fine service for a party of 20.

Great food great people. Highly recommended

Such tasty, affordable, authentic Italian food. Great atmosphere in the restaurant and friendly staff.

Very nice Italian food, the calzone is amazing

We were there 4 times during the last to weeks beeing always astonished about the extraordinary food

One of the best restaurants I have ever been too! Customer service from management o chefs and waiters was amazing. So polite. The food! Where do I start! Amazing steak cooked just perfect. My family had the seafood which looked amazing! I couldn't ask for more from a local restaurant.