Arancina, Notting Hill, London

I reguarly visit to get an arancino after picking up a taste for them in Italy last year, It seems more and more places are serving them now but Arancina is still the best I have had. I haven't tried the pizza but an Italian I know lamented the fact that the pepperoni was a little too american. Still the place is always bustling and its a great place to pick up a snack on the way through to Portobello Markets... or after too much drinking!

Great little pizzeria in Notting Hill.. not too expensive with a nice comfortable decor & smiley staff. Can't help popping in every time I'm in Notting Hill!

I've tried this place twice and each time left disappointed. Love the interior decoration but the food is poor. Over microwaved rice balls and dry, cardboardy pizza. Such a shame.

Afraid I found it style over sunstance.

Having lived in Rome for 6 months, I’m pretty fussy about pizza and could not imagine eating Domino’s pizza again in my life- (call me a snob but it’s all fat and stodge). Arancina is as real as the deal gets in London- the pizza tastes amazing- thin crust, bursting with natural flavours and served by the slice. The downside is that it’s at least twice as expensive as in Rome! Still- for a fiver you get yourself a decent home-cooked meal (they also do fantastically tasty pasta/ lasagne/ Italian roast chicken with the yummiest roast potatos!) and friendly service. It really is a little slice of the real Italian 'Pizza al Taglio’ experience. You know it’s great because half the people who eat here are Italians.
Also highly recommended are the 'suppli’ and 'arancino’ which are balls of risotto with a filling made of mozzarello and tomato (suppli) or cream and mushroom or spinach and ricotta and then deep fried in a breadcrumb batter! Lovely!

This is a good place to get a quick bite if you are in a hurry to hit the stalls of portobello market. The coffee and pizza are excellent, the pizza is served in large rectangular slices with lovely italian toppings, think rocket, pancetta, chilli, egg. I’d also recommend the deep fried rice balls after which the place is named. They are quite rich and fatty but a nice guilty pleasure. There’s another branch just by the junction of queensway and westbourne grove which is much the same so it looks like its a pretty succesful little business. In conclusion, a little bit pricier than your average little cafe, but great food that is easy to eat on the go and worth the extra cash

I visited this place recently while visiting Notting Hill with a rumbling stomach, and the orange exterior drew me in. They had an excellent selection of pizzas to takeaway, I chose a calzone for a couple of quid which was delicious. I would definitely like to come back with friends when in the Portobello area, maybe to try some of the pasta dishes.

Yum! The pizza here is heavenly, but it’s not your usual pizzeria. It’s a self service type fast food place. The pizza is served in slices (big enough even if you are very hungry) and you pay up front, then grab some cutlery and sit upstairs in the tiny room looking down towards Portobello. Ideal for lunch or for a snack after the long stroll up the hill from the market.

a lovely littel place which still feels like a bit of a secret (even though it’s on the main tourist trail to Portobello Market). lovely pizza (very authentic according to my Italian friends) to share and lovely little cake things, too. extremely good value - especially for the area.

Only five stars for this little cafe. Amazing pizza and pasta which is displayed with great care on top of a orange car in the window. . ! Very resonalble prices and the portions are sizeable.

It is the orange car in the window, with pizza sticking out of it that makes people stop.
But the smell brings people in. The small orange rice balls - a Sicilian delicacy -give the cafe its name. Upstairs is a great hideaway from the bustling market, with big bright pictures of Sicily across the walls and newspapers at the coffee table.
The prices seem a little excessive for the goods, even if they do taste great, but I guess that has something to do with being situated in Notting Hill.
I really wish they’d bring back the piano they used to have downstairs. It was brilliantly eccentric to have a guy playing piano hits in a takeaway cafe. If I could have him and his Queen hits back, Arancina would be complete!