When it comes to glitzy ingredients, often incorporated into dishes to add a touch of opulence, truffle shares the top spot with caviar. Sourced from European countries including France, Italy, and Spain, as well as certain regions of the United States, truffles lack the luxurious beginnings one would assume, instead growing underground near the roots of trees such as oak, beech, birch, and pine. This edible fungi varies in colour, size and type, but it’s white Alba truffles that are the prized cherry on the often cheesy, pasta-shaped cake. 

Famous for their delicate, musky flavour and relatively short season, which runs from September to December, it’s perhaps no surprise to Londoners that the city’s Italian trattorias, Michelin-starred restaurants and innovative eateries have compiled menus to satiate the appetite of any mushroom-mad client. Read on for our pick of the best truffle menus and events in London. 

Lina Stores, King’s Cross

On 29 October, popular pasta joint Lina Stores will host its inaugural truffle cook off at its King’s Cross outpost. The competition will see some of London’s most talented chefs create a dish that celebrates the magnificent mushroom in support of StreetSmart, a charity that has supported more than 250 homeless projects over the last 22 years. This year’s lineup of chefs will include The Audley’s Jamie Shears, Crispin’s Lewis de Haas, and Tom Booton, head chef at Dorchester’s The Grill, among others. 

The night will see each chef present their entry in a unique way, showcasing the diversity of the truffle and London’s food scene, to a roster of judges that includes English songwriter and TV personality Professor Green, The London Standard’s food critic David Ellis, cookbook author Tom Parker Bowles and Streetsmart’s Kimberley Coke. Watch as chefs go head to head and sample a few of the most delectable truffle plates in town all under one roof. 

20 Stable Street, N1C 4DR, visit linastores.co.uk

Belvedere, Holland Park

As the bounty of autumn ingredients appeared in Italy, native Lagotto Romagnolos dogs were traditionally set off to hunt for the finest truffles. Harking back to this tradition is Italian dining destination Belvedere, welcoming epicureans with the launch of a white truffle menu from 1 November. 

Working with small-scale suppliers, the seasonal menu from head chef Lello Favuzzi features premium produce sourced from villages across Italy, ensuring that the vibrant flavours of his home country are threaded throughout. Available as supplements to the à la carte offering, expect perfectly fried eggs topped with copious shavings of white truffle followed by hand-chopped beef battuta – a Piedmontese take on steak tartare – complemented by earthy truffle. For the main event, golden and green paglia e fieno taglierini is crowned with the rare delicacy, while a velvety scoop of homemade ice cream infused with the deep essence of white truffle rounds off the meal in the most decadent way. 

Holland Park, Abbotsbury Road, W8 6LU, visit belvedererestaurant.co.uk

Luca, Clerkenwell

This autumn, Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Luca will continue its quest to become London’s leading white truffle destination with a six-course white Alba truffle menu offering guests the opportunity to shave their own truffle tableside. Plus, all guests will be gifted a Luca-engraved truffle shaver with a recipe card to take home, thoughtfully prepared by executive chef Robert Chambers. The six-course tribute to tartuffo bianco (Piedmont white truffle) will begin with parmesan fries before antipasti of porcini mushroom tart with smoked almonds and taleggio, and roast Orkney scallop, sourdough, and Piedmont hazelnuts – both of which will be crowned with white Alba truffle.

For primi and secondi, guests will be given their own white Alba truffle to shave on the likes of agnolotti of white potato cacio e pepe and kampot pepper and dry-aged Hereford fillet, braised short rib, porcini, confit garlic and pecorino before moving onto a pudding of steamed white truffle and honey sponge. An optional wine pairing of fine Piedmontese whites and Barolos will be on offer courtesy of head sommelier Ivan Franco with each bottle chosen to bring depth and harmony to each course.

 88 St John Street, EC1M 4EH, visit luca.restaurant

Coq d’Argent, Bank

This autumn, indulge in the luxurious flavours of truffle season with Coq d'Argent's exclusive tasting menu. Designed by head chef Damien Rigollet, the six courses highlight the rich, aromatic essence of truffles and come paired with expertly-picked wines. Championing both black and Alba white truffles, standout dishes include rose veal rump with mashed potatoes, wild mushroom and truffle sauce, and warm dark chocolate and orange soufflé tart with black truffle ice cream. Be quick, the menu is only available while white truffle stocks last… 

1 Poultry, EC2R 8EJ, visit coqdargent.co.uk

Sette by Scarpetta, Knightsbridge

This October, Sette by Scarpetta – the modern Italian restaurant tucked away in the Bulgari Hotel – will be launching a limited-edition white truffle menu to mark the beginning of the mushroom season. Available until 31 December, the menu offers a variety of decadent dishes each made with three grams of white truffle, ranging from scrambled eggs with butter and angus beef tartare, to homemade buttered tagliatelle and risotto with parmesan. Sette has also created a unique and indulgent white truffle negroni to complement the menu, featuring white truffle-infused Engine Gin, Quaglia Bergamot liqueur, and Lillet Blanc. 

171 Knightsbridge, SW7 1DW, visit settelondon.co.uk

Sale e Pepe, Knightsbridge

Italian dining institution Sale e Pepe launched its white truffle earlier this month and has something to satisfy every craving. The menu sees a selection of traditional antipasti topped with lashings of the Piedmontese special, such as burrata caprese with plum tomatoes, beef carpaccio with rocket and sun blushed tomatoes, and porcini mushroom soup with garlic crostini. Larger plates include truffle tagliatelle, porcini mushroom risotto with butter, parmesan and white truffle, and a classic wagyu beef tartare topped with white truffle. To finish is a showstopping panna cotta served with truffle honey for a true essence of la dolce vita. Bellissimo. 

 9-15 Pavilion Road, SW1X 0HD, visit saleepepe.co.uk

The Dining Room at The Twenty Two, Mayfair

The Twenty Two has just launched its seasonal truffle menu, bringing luxurious autumn flavours to the elegant restaurant in the heart of Mayfair. New dishes will offer the chance for truffle lovers to be truly indulged as they pick from a menu featuring champagne, mascarpone, and parmesan risotto with freshly shaved truffle, fried duck egg with smoked duck and truffle toastie, or fresh egg pasta with pecorino and delicate truffle slices. Over on the a la carte, however, truffle appears in a variety of forms, from toppings on creamy mash potato, crisp artichoke salad, and on a beef burger finished with comte. 

22 Grosvenor Square, W1K 6LF, visit thetwentytwo.com

Bacchanalia, Mayfair

Described by the ancient Greeks as the ‘food of the gods’, truffles unsurprisingly feature on  the menus at Mayfair’s Greco-Roman restaurant, Bacchanalia, in the form of a piled-high plate of truffle tagliatelle. Created by head chef Athinagoras Kostakos, who has sourced the black truffle directly from Italy via renowned truffle supplier Alfredo Romani, this dish makes for a cosy yet opulent autumnal meal. 

1-3 Mount Street, W1K 3NB, visit bacchanalia.co.uk

Bocca di Lupo, Soho

As autumn sets in, Soho trattoria Bocca di Lupo is looking to Italy for this season’s inspiration: white Alba truffles. From October onwards, chef and founder Jacob Kenedy is inviting guests to BYOT – bring your own truffle – to shave over dishes at the restaurant. Each day, the team marks the dishes on his menu which are best suited to a dusting of pale gold slices, including bagna caoda, a warm fondue of anchovy and garlic served with seasonal crudités to golden, yolk-rich tajarin – a Piedmontese variant of tagliolini – topped with raw duck egg yolk and parmesan. 

Guests can purchase whole fragrant white truffles from sister gelataria Gelupo – which sources the mushroom directly from Piedmont, northern Italy – and bring them across the street to Bocca di Lupo to be gently cleaned, then shaved over their choice of dishes by the chefs.

12 Archer Street, W1D 7BB, visit boccadilupo.com

Big Mamma Group, across London

Known for its viral truffle pastas and pizzas, the Big Mamma restaurant group – comprising the Insta-famous Circolo Popolare in Fitzrovia, Shoreditch’s Gloria, Jacuzzi in Kensington and, the newest addition to the portfolio, Carlotta in Marylebone – has plenty to tempt any truffle lover with many exciting dishes on its new autumn menus. From truffle croquettes to the TrufflePuff pizzas, and Circolo Popolare's mafaldine al tartufo – a creamy mascarpone pasta with black Molise truffle – to Jacuzzi’s spaghetti al tartufo, with parmigiano reggiano foam and fresh black truffle served in a pecorino wheel, book early to sample a number of delectable delights before truffle season comes to an end. 

Visit bigmammagroup.com

Read more: The best pasta restaurants in London