Your Soho Summer at 40 Dean Street

Aperitivo, alfresco tables and a taste of Italy on Dean Street

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Summer in London has a particular feeling on Dean Street. When the sun comes round, the tables outside 40 Dean Street fill with the sound of spritz glasses and the hum of Soho in the warm months. Nima and his sister have run this small Italian restaurant since 2009, cooking the kind of food you would find in a family kitchen in Italy, and summer is when it comes alive. The energy spills onto the pavement, a chilled glass catches the light, and for a moment you could be somewhere along the Italian coast rather than the middle of the city. This page brings together everything that makes a Soho summer with us, from the alfresco tables to aperitivo hour and the cocktails that follow.

Alfresco and outdoor dining on Dean Street

Summer at 40 Dean Street starts outside. Our tables on the pavement put you right in the middle of Soho, glass in hand, watching the street go by while you eat. Patio heaters mean the outdoor seats work well past sunset and into the cooler evenings, so the season stretches further than the forecast might suggest. Outdoor dining in Soho gets especially busy on warm Fridays and Saturdays, so it is worth booking ahead. You can read more about eating outside with us on our alfresco dining page.

Aperitivo hour

Aperitivo is the Italian habit of a pre-dinner drink with something small to eat, and it is the heart of a 40 Dean Street summer. A cold spritz, a few olives, a plate of antipasti to share, and the evening opens up gently. The spritz is our signature pour when the weather turns, bitter and bright and made for the sunshine, the kind of aperitivo you would order on a square somewhere in Italy.

Cocktails in Soho

When aperitivo turns into the evening proper, the cocktails take over. Our list runs from the classics to a few Italian-leaning pours built for summer, all mixed to order behind the bar. They go down easily at an outdoor table as the light fades over Soho. Have a look at the full drinks and cocktails list when you arrive.

The menu on the outside tables is the same one we run inside, with handmade pasta rolled every morning, plus all the seafood, truffle, and slow-cooked dishes the kitchen is famous for. On a warm afternoon, the lighter pasta and seafood dishes come into their own, with the kind of fresh, simple Italian cooking that suits the air, the sun, and the company at the table. If you want something sweet to finish, the pistachio tiramisu we have served here since 2009 makes for a particularly Italian way to end your dining experience.

Summer on the plate

The kitchen leans into lighter, brighter dishes as the season warms. Spaghetti vongole brings clams, white wine and garlic together in the simplest way, the sort of plate that tastes like a coastal holiday. Our seafood linguine sits in a brandy bisque that has become one of the dishes people come back for. Finish with pistachio tiramisu, soft and nutty and just rich enough to end on. See the full food menu for everything else we are cooking this summer.

Finding 40 Dean Street

You will find us at 40 Dean Street, in the heart of Soho and a short walk from the theatres, bars and shops of the West End. It is an easy place to begin an evening or to settle in for a summer lunch.

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