The most authentic Italian restaurant in London

My girlfriend and I were traveling from Sicily to England in mid November. We were on a bus from the Catania airport to the city for our flight to London. We were both wearing earbuds, so when the bus driver called out to us, we couldn't hear him. He walked over to us and asked in Italian where we were going. We told him the airport. He asked us if we had already purchased tickets. We hadn't. He looked at our boarding passes and said that it would be a huge waste if we didn't get on the plane, telling us he would drop us off at the airport, no charge, as he'd be going that way anyway. My girlfriend took this as her cue to make friends with the driver, as she often does. Strangers always find themselves endeared to her. She began asking him questions, and I couldn't help but overhear. What's your name? How long have you been driving for? Do you like your job? Where are you from? Then she asked him, what would you recommend we do in London? <br><br>"You won't like what I have to say. We Italians are very critical of the food other countries serve that claims to be Italian, but is not."<br>My girlfriend insisted. He scribbled some words on the back of her boarding pass, and told her to go to that address and tell them that Salvatore sent you. She looked at the paper; it was an address in London. He dropped us off at our gate and we made it on the plane after all.<br><br>We arrived at our flat in East London, and forgot all about the bus driver. It wasn't until we were scrolling through Google Maps for a good Italian restaurant that we remembered the address. I plugged it into Google Maps and it pulled up a restaurant that was a 15 minute walk from our flat. We went for dinner the next night. When we arrived, we told the woman at the counter that Salvatore had recommended the place. She smiled at us knowingly and said, "You must be the ones he called about." She led us to the only available table. Looking around, everyone working there was Italian. The woman running the front counter had the same last name as the chef. The food was incredible. I had the pollo alla cacciatora, and my girlfriend had the rigatoni alla vodka. We left stuffed, with leftovers to go. <br><br>We went back a couple weeks later. We ordered for delivery. We went back again when my mother came to visit over Christmas. I told the chef that she was from southern Italy, so if he wanted to impress, he had to bring his A game. He made her chicken parmesan, which was a hit. We asked him if he could make our favorite Italian dish; Zeppole. Fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar. He agreed. <br><br>We've been to that restaurant five times now, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone in London looking for authentic Italian food. The restaurant is called Bella Cosa. It's run by a southern Italian family. The chef and the owner have the same last name, so it must be a family business. The food is fantastic. I'm sure that if you tell them Salvatore sent you, you'll get all the more attention. Here's the address:<br><br>Bella Cosa, 1 Racquet Ct, Hoxton, London EC2A 3BQ<br><br>&#x200B;