When I visited: July 2017 and November 2017

Location: London, near St Paul’s (there are other London and Italian branches)

Rating in the Michelin Guide: Not in the Guide

Dining Owl Hoot rating: 4/5

What to wear: Men – jeans or nice trousers and a shirt; women – jeans and a smart top or a smart dress / workwear

Ambience: Smart, classy

Course of the meal: Tagliolini with porcini mushrooms and black truffle

If I could change one thing: More lively atmosphere

Review:

Obica is a tucked-away, slick and shiny restaurant near St Paul’s, serving tasty Italian dishes. It is a ‘mozzarella bar’ and its buffalo mozzarella with black truffle is definitely worth trying. The mini bruschette with anchovies, tomatoes and olives are also good for sharing, and main courses such as the trofie with pesto or fish with vegetables are well-proportioned.

On my second visit, I shared the ‘naturally smoked’ buffalo mozzarella (affuicata) with my partner Owl, which was as delicious as ever, and also had the tagliolini pasta with porcini mushrooms, black truffle, pumpkin, casatica and thyme, which was gorgeous. My partner Owl had the pappardelle con ragu (with sausage) for a main which was really well-balanced – neither pasta dish was too heavy.

In terms of drinks, I have had the Summer Spritz (vodka, Aperol and prosecco) and a glass of red Chianti, both of which were good and not too expensive.