Manteca, Soho
Manteca is a suitably dark and moody restaurant in London’s beating Soho, where fresh, hand-cut pasta and nose-to-tail sauces are the order of the day.
Tender orange-scented olives of every colour and size are fine fodder for browsing the short menu, while warm and bouncy, rosemary-flecked focaccia, damp with oil and salt crystals, staves off hunger before the main event. There’s house-made mortadella, which we’ll be returning for, but are tempted in the direction of the fresh pasta.
Rich and silky brown crab cacio e pepe clings onto tonnarelli – spaghetti’s squarer, rougher cousin – while fat, slippery ribbons of pappardelle hold the softest, well-seasoned ox cheek ragu and fresh, grassy parsley. The must-order, though, should you be lucky enough to still catch the season, is mushroom ravioli in a buttery sauce with crisp sage and shavings of marbled black truffle – they’re creamy, earthy, forest-floor-fantastic.
Lina Stores, Clapham
Lina Stores continues to charm Londoners at its newest location. This one has a neighbourhood feel, placed just a stone’s throw from Clapham common, with amiable service matching the cheery atmosphere. Nab a spot at the bar for a quick bite, or just to watch the expert chefs tossing huge pans of pasta. Downstairs offers a smarter feel, perfect for a date night.
Offering a short but sweet menu made up of antipasti, pastas and dolci, plates are well priced and generously portioned – three pastas between two is a good place to start, although you might want to skip dessert for a double portion of the polenta fritti with lardo. All the pastas are well seasoned and appropriately al dente. The crab linguine was silky and unctuous, spiked with a welcome kick of chilli. Gluten free-ers can rejoice, as the gluten free pasta option, made with buckwheat, was also of a high standard.
While this is not an Italian that is reinventing the wheel, it is one that has something for everyone, in a charming spot in a trendy corner of south London. linastores.co.uk
Pophams, London Fields
The team behind the popular East London bakery has smartly moved its pastry skills into pasta territory for evenings in the London Fields branch. Don’t fret, bakes are still very much present, with hunks of fresh-from-the-oven sourdough to start, homemade caraway-flecked crackers to scoop up smoked trout pâté and a perfectly formed croissant apple tart, filled with buttery sesame compote, intricate slices of apple and a moat of vanilla custard. These baked delights bookmark the evening’s main event: a short selection of fresh, homemade pasta shapes coated, filled and topped with seasonal sauces. Favourites on our visit were casoncelli parcels filled with a white veal mince bolognese, tossed in butter, guanciale pieces and parmesan. Orecchiette are made with toasted sourdough flour, coated in chicken butter sauce as a vehicle for dinky chicken meatballs. Order a side of pan-fried and roasted Romana courgette sticks with a light coating of fine sourdough and sun-dried tomato crumbs. pophamsbakery.com/pasta
Noci, Battersea Power Station
Modern pasta restaurant Noci has opened its second site deep inside Battersea Power Station, joining the original Islington location. Despite the industrial surroundings of Battersea Power Station, once you’re inside Noci it manages to still feel warm and cosy – suitable for both special occasion dinners and quick lunches whilst shopping. A range of modern spritzes on the cocktail menu is a new addition to the Noci offering that’s exclusive to Battersea and not to be missed: the lemon and elderflower spritz on tap is a refreshing easy-drinker, whilst the sherbety yuzu and rhubarb spritz is our new favourite summer drink.
Kick a meal off with a selection of the snacks: salty house focaccia topped with red onions, or triangular parcels of mortadella, ricotta and fior de latte torte fritter that ooze with cheese. Crisp, buttery nduja arancini are accompanied by a cloud of rich pecorino and parmesan mousse. The pasta menu combines Noci classics with changing seasonal twists. The signature veal and pork Genovese ragu (pictured) remains the standout dish and is a must-order, with deep caramelised onion flavour, meat that falls apart and melting Monk’s Head cheese delivered with style. The brown butter cacio e pepe is chewy and indulgent, whilst the crab and ricotta raviolo is generously filled and the richness balanced by plenty of deeply toasted pine nuts. There’s a short dessert menu, but you’re here for the savoury. Go for three pastas between two and a couple of the fried snacks and you’re sure to leave happy. nocirestaurant.co.uk
Officina 00, Old Street
Officina 00 is a cool pasta spot bringing a warm taste of the Med to Old Street roundabout, in East London. Italian classics from each region are given a modern twist, be it crumbled tarallo (a southern Italian savoury breadstick) atop burrata or cacio e pepe-filled deep-fried ravioli. All dishes are designed for sharing, and between two it’s best to order a couple of snacks, a small plate and two bowls of pasta (leaving room for tiramisu). Start with gooey aubergine croquettes, spiked with ‘nduja and topped with a sheet of ricotta salata, a final drizzle of honey giving a floral sweetness.
Pasta comes al dente (although some might find it a little on the thick side), so if you like things lighter order gnocchi. Gooey dollops of melted gorgonzola cling onto pillows of soft pumpkin, all soaking up a nutty sage brown butter. It’s a comforting cuddle in a bowl. Corzetti (a thinly rolled, round pasta shape, stamped with a decorative design) traditional of north-west Italy is topped with an umami kick of bouncy wild mushrooms and crumbled fennel sausage.
Padella, Borough Market
Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda, the duo behind Trullo in Highbury, opened their second restaurant, Padella, in Borough Market in March 2016. Padella’s menu is made up of eight pasta dishes taken from Trullo’s ‘greatest hits’, using fresh pasta rolled in the window of the restaurant just before service.
A small, no-bookings restaurant where queues are a given, Padella was born of a desire to make fresh handmade pasta accessible to everybody, with prices ranging from £5.50 to £11.50. The open kitchen combines traditional Italian techniques and quality British produce to make dishes like pappardelle and eight-hour beef shin ragu, tagliarini with brown shrimps, green and yellow courgette, and its now famous pici cacio e pepe.
Jordan says: “We wanted to create a restaurant that was true to the principles we admired in the great British restaurants – rigorous seasonality with a focus on using British producers wherever possible. We make everything in-house – rolling pasta, baking our bread, churning our ice cream – every day, and do it at a price that isn’t exclusive.”
Check out our full review of Padella, here and the cacio e pepe recipe
Bancone, Covent Garden
The tagline for Covent Garden’s Italian restaurant, just minutes from Trafalgar Square, might be “pasta, prosecco, espresso” – but it’s those first little mouthfuls of arancini from the antipasti that you’ll be raving about, come home time. Fresh pasta, which is made and rolled upstairs, is flash-boiled before being tossed with any of the 10 sauces on offer. Chitarra – guitar-string like spaghetti – is slicked with cacio e pepe and topped with a crisp, peppered cheese wafer. Oxtail ragu (best ever ragu recipes here), slow cooked for 10 hours until sticky and sweet, clings to bouncy folds of pappardelle. Simple, quality ingredients – the bedrock of good Italian cookery – are shown proper respect.
Click here for our dinner party menu from Bancone here
Lina Stores, Soho
Lina Stores is a much-anticipated pasta, antipasti and aperitivi bar from Soho institution Lina Stores, an Italian deli that’s been the go-to for authentic produce since opening in 1944. The white and mint striped awning makes the new restaurant easily identifiable to regulars at Lina Stores’ original green-tiled corner shop a few streets away.
Head chef Masha Rener has kept the menu simple and seemingly authentic, with every ingredient hailing directly from Italy – from bright and buttery Cerignola olives right down to the sugar used in exemplary Italian desserts and cakes. Fresh pasta, handmade an hour before service, is given pride of place at Lina Stores, served as the main event rather than traditional pre-main primi. Bright yellow strands of pappardelle soak up light, gamey rabbit ragu, perfectly formed gnocchi is brightened up with popping peas, and a vibrant mint and courgette mixture is stuffed into little tortellini parcels. Pici alla norcina is the highlight, though – springy worms of pasta in a creamy, nutty sauce of porcini mushroom and Norcia sausage (often celebrated as the best in Italy).
Here’s our review of Lina Stores’ original shop, too
Trullo, Higbury
Older sister to Borough Market’s Padella, Trullo serves perfect pasta, antipasti and larger charcoal grill dishes in a romantic yet relaxed environment. Upstairs, wooden tables – simply laid with white paper tablecloths and flickering tea lights – are huddled together, while downstairs, dark booths are perfect for a longer, laid-back dinner.
Sager + Wilde, Bethnal Green
Stop by at lunchtime or before 7pm own the evening for the bargain pasta deal. £10 gets ou a glass of house wine or dinky negroni along with a bowl of freshly made pasta – frilly reginette with punchy beef ‘nduja and mascarpone, or twisted strozzapreti with creamy blue cheese, pumpkin and pine nuts. Carbonara is indulgent and creamy without being too rich to start the day. Order a thin, buttery potato rosti on the side. sagerandwilde.com
Emilia’s, St Katherines Dock
“Many people have said the view from our restaurant resembles the coast of southern Italy,” says Andrew Macleod, owner of Emilia’s in St Katharine Docks. After developing the concept, Andrew joined forces with pasta chef Simone Stagnitto to create the menus for this rustic pasta bar. The pasta is made daily on site and the concise menu features just seven pasta dishes. Recipes include a northern Italian-style carbonara and four-hour slow-cooked béchamel bolognese.
Pastaio, Soho
Chef Stevie Parle’s casual venture brings handmade pasta and affordable wines to Soho. From the pasta section, malloreddus (tiny, ridged Sardinian gnocchi) come dressed with a slow-cooked sausage sauce that’s elegantly light and flavourful, while agnoli stuffed with grouse, pork and rabbit in a seriously moreish sage-butter sauce is a deceptively simple dish that makes good use of prime autumn produce.
Click here to read our full review of pastaio
Burro e Salvia, Shoreditch
Pop in to Burro e Salvia to watch staff hand rolling pasta of all shapes and sizes and buy to take away or continue through to the back to sit in the bright, contemporary café. The short menu includes pappardelle with slow-cooked duck ragu, orecchiette (little ears) with broccoli and anchovies, and hand rolled pics with pumpkin, sausage and pecorino.
If you’ve enjoyed a meal at Burro e Salvia, roll up your sleeves and get stuck in learning how to make your own pasta from scratch the next time you visit by signing up for one of the company’s three types of fresh pasta workshops. From lasagna sheets to tagliatelle, or tagliolini made from fresh egg and flour pasta, go for one of the basic pasta-making classes. For a more advanced session, try a filled pasta workshop and learn to work with different shapes and fillings for tortelli and cardinali. Or opt for the semolina pasta workshop and work with water-based dough and pasta shapes including ‘ear-shaped’ orecchiette. burroesalvia.co.uk
Bocca di Lupo, Soho
Bocca di Lupo showcases regional Italian cooking in tapas-sized portions. Jacob and Victor travelled extensively around Italy to research the restaurant’s menu and wine lists. There’s a dedicated pasta section featuring the likes of pappardelle with wild boar ragu, spaghetti with squid cooked in it’s ink to turn black, and “pinched” little parcels of agnolotti del plin filled with veal and pork. boccadilupo.com
Want to create homemade pasta from London’s best pasta restaurants? Try these recipes…
Padella’s pici cacio e pepe
Three of the most comforting words you’ll read: pasta, butter, cheese. This classic Tuscan recipe for pici cacio e pepe comes from Borough Market’s Padella.
Bancone’s lamb ragu pappardelle
Check out chef Louis Korovilas’s melt-in-the-mouth pappardelle with indulgent lamb ragu. This easy yet impressive recipe comes from Italian restaurant Bancone in Covent Garden.
Cantino Corvino’s cauliflower and fontina cannelloni
This recipe for cauliflower and fontina cannelloni comes from the chefs at Cantino Corvino, London. It’s a delicious, comforting pasta dish.
