When it comes to cooking simple, seasonal Italian food at the highest level, there really is nowhere to hide – without the superfluous garnishes and theatrics that often accompany Michelin-starred meals, the few ingredients appearing on the plate have to be the very best and cooked to perfection. At The River Cafe in Hammersmith, the team have been doing exactly that for over thirty years.

Originally opened in 1987 by Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray as a canteen to feed the employees of Robert Rogers’ (Ruth’s husband) architecture firm. Robert turned the site – originally part of an oil storage facility – into a restaurant. Despite its humble beginnings, it’s now known as one of the most beautiful dining rooms in London, with the long, open dining room and kitchen seamlessly rolling into one another, accompanied by a long bar facing the floor-to-ceiling windows. The shocking pink pizza oven becomes the natural focal point, with the projected clockface to the right of it a close second. The outdoor terrace, which overlooks the Thames and offers a rare opportunity to enjoy serene al fresco dining in London, is always in high demand when the weather’s good.

With such a focus on the ingredients, the menu naturally changes with the seasons, but there are a handful of signature dishes that remain constant. The chargrilled squid with chilli and wild rocket has been on the menu for decades, as has The River Cafe’s infamous chocolate nemesis cake (the gelato is also a must-try). While there are usually one or two pasta dishes and perhaps a pizzetta on the menu, don’t expect the run-of-the-mill Italian dishes – instead, Ruth and her head chefs Sian Wyn Owen, Joseph Trivelli and Danny Bohan (along with the rest of the kitchen team) celebrate the wealth of flavours found in every nook and cranny of Italy’s regional cuisine.

The wine is, as you’d imagine, exclusively Italian, with bottles from every one of Italy’s twenty regions on offer. Regarded as one of the best wine lists in London, with a real focus on regional varieties that are both expertly paired with and used to cook many of the dishes on the menu. Plenty are available by the glass, but for real oenophiles the joy can be found in the lengthy list of bottles.

The River Cafe has been an institution of London’s food scene for decades, and will continue to be for many more. The reason? The best ingredients cooked well in warm, welcoming and relaxing surroundings. Countless restaurants attempt this approach, but barely any manage to hold a candle to what Ruth and Rose’s legacy.