There are few things that beat a summer meal out with friends, family or your partner, when the sun is shining and you can sit outside, eat delicious food and have a few drinks.

In London we’re lucky to have such an array of options to suit this, but some just hit the spot more so than others.

Heddon Street is tucked away in the heart of Soho and is home to Piccolino – the popular restaurant chain with 20 branches up and down the country.

(Image: Piccolino)

It recently launched its brand new summer menu – with inspiration of trending crudo dishes from Italy, authentic summer seafood platters and contemporary twists on Italian classics.

Signature dishes include Carpaccio di Fassona using beef from the hills of Tuscany, whole baked seabass in salt crust filleted table-side and show stopping Fritto Misto, abundant with prawns, calamari, squid, white bait and red mullet.

My friend and I went for dinner on a Friday night for a good chat and a catch up. We ordered a couple of Aperol Spritzs and started our meal with the new Crudi Assortiti sharing platter.

It was an aesthetic spectacle and came with yellowfin tuna tartare, salmon crudo, salmon carpaccio and two freshly shucked oysters.

(Image: Immy Share, Newsquest)

We demolished every single taste, and it was the perfect summers evening dish to start our meal.

We got a tricolore salad to go with it as well, which is the perfect mix of fresh tomatoes, avocado, mozzarella cheese and pesto – to me, the epitome of summer.

For main course I went for tuna steak, which when cooked nicely, is my absolute favourite in a restaurant. My friend went for the prawns and we ate, drank, put the world to rights and enjoyed our evening until the sun went in and the heaters came on keeping us warm outside.

We shared zucchini fries and creamy mashed potato, and the food was nothing short of perfection.

(Image: Immy Share, Newsquest)

I loved the wide range of options on the summer menu, as well as the classics, and it’s the kind of place I’d go again and again for a meal I know I can rely on to be delicious.

The interior of the restaurant is also lovely, with a large lower ground Cicchetti Bar, an open kitchen and an extensive terrace at the front of the restaurant.

The restaurant also features a chic private dining room perfect for events to remember.

If you want to feel abroad in London, eat reliably good food, and make the most of the summer, Piccolino in Heddon Street is your place.