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Da Maria is a local institution. A tiny little restaurant tucked next to the Gate Cinema, Da Maria has been doing proper Neapolitan cooking for 37 years. It’s always busy, and on Napoli FC’s match days Italians spill out onto the street outside, shouting and hugging each other, sometimes even having a cry. Da Maria is the only place in Notting Hill where everything on the menu’s under £9. Jay Rayner recently called it ‘the kind of place that keeps London human’. We reckon it’s the kind of place that keeps this city alive.
So we were pretty devastated to hear that this loveliest of all Italian restaurants is at risk of closure. The landlord of the building it shares with the Gate Cinema has made an application to extend the cinema, knocking through into Da Maria next door. Which means that this little slice of Naples may well become… an enlarged cinema foyer. Lily Allen has also backed calls to save the restaurant from demolition, and a petition has been launched. The decision is being made on October 10. We’re keeping everything crossed ‘til then.
Love Italian food? Check out our roundup of the best in the city.