I asked a foodie friend for an Italian pasta spot recommendation in town, and he promptly said Pastaio, which has often been described as Padella sans the two-hour queue. I guess my friend should know, as he lives in Bermondsey and was a Padella regular before the social media-fuelled madness started.
Anyhow, I was there on Tuesday, 6pm as the place doesn’t allow reservations either. No problem procuring a seat although the place - communal tables inside notwithstanding - filled up pretty fast and was practically full by 6.15pm.
What we had:
Watermelon, yellow tomato, feta, Aleppo chilli & mint salad Fresh, simple and quite tasty starter, though I rather miss the usual watermelon-feta-balsamic combo.
Crab, chilli, rocket, black & white spaghetti Perfect - al dente pasta with a light dressing, pepped up with chili flakes.
Wild Boar, rabbit & pork agnoli This dish was truly delicious, the wild boar-rabbit-pork combo gave the dish a wonderful, meaty depth of flavour. I could actually do seconds of this.
Lemon custard cream tart, strawberries, pistachio
Tiramisu
Nifty little spot, right on the doorstep of Carnaby Street. Cheery service by the very competent wait-staff, above average pasta dishes, and a nice, casual atmosphere. It felt like a place you’d want to come back to every day.
Address
Pastaio
19 Ganton Street
London W1F 9BN
Tel: Unlisted
Opening hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 12 noon-10.30pm
Fri & Sat 12 noon -11pm
