Places: Campania and Jones Italian Restaurant, East London

The facade of Campania and Jones restaurant in East London — @cdavs

ONE OF the best things about living in London is the food. We’ve recently been making our way around the Italian restaurants we’ve heard were good and Campania & Jones has been on the list for a while now. We’ve heard so much about the romantic ambiance, with its woodburner in the back corner and stacks of firewood along the wall and charmingly rickety furniture and slightly ramshackle vibe. Campania is a southern Italian restaurant in east London that serves traditional dishes from the south of Italy. Its pasta is made by hand daily. The restaurant was founded on the premise that good quality seasonal produce is essential for a perfect dish, so it strives to always find the best ingredients from local suppliers and small producers.

The restaurant is located at what was once a working dairy farm with stables and cows, established in the 1880’s by two Welsh brothers: the Joneses. 134 years later, the new proprietors discovered this forgotten, nearly decrepit place while searching for a new home for their restaurant, Campania. After two years of careful renovation and restoration, balancing the retention of original charm with modern functionality, Campania and Jones opened on the ground floor. Above, accessed via a private side-entrance, lies a two-bedroom apartment where guests may stay. You can also pick up fresh pasta (and ragu) in the restaurant’s petite shop ‘to go’ should you wish to prepare something at home. The shop additionally stocks coffee beans and red wine. On Sundays this peaceful corner comes alive with East End market vendors selling flowers as part of the historic Columbia Road Market–a true East End tradition.

Campania and Jones Italian Restaurant, East London thisisglamorous @lucywilliamso2 — @lucywilliamso2

Places: Campania and Jones Italian Restaurant, East London — @richardleemassey

A man holds us two bouquets of flowers at the Columbia Road Flower Market — @pereninaan

The restaurant is right next to the Columbia Road Flower Market, one of our favourite places on earth. A perfect Sunday would be the market (open from 8:00 – 3:00), some shopping (there’s a fun record shop, as well as a great vintage shop), perhaps a pub or two, and then, of course, dinner reservations at Campania.