The Best Fresh Pasta London Has To Offer | A Deep Dive Into The Heart Of Carbness
Most restaurants in London can make a decent pasta dish…
…but only a handful can properly gnocchi-t out the park.
See there, are plenty of great Italian restaurants in London. And heck, even a globe-trotting modern European spot can have a decent crack at it. But London’s had something of a fresh pasta renaissance in recent years, with dedicated restaurants popping up with the props to rival any Italian nonna’s kitchen.
And so here we list the places to go for the finest fresh pasta in London. We’re talking hand-crafted ribbons of pappardelle that’ve been kneaded, stretched, and sliced fresh that morning, ready to be bathed in an 8-hour beef shin ragu. There’s squid ink spaghetti with crab, chilli & lemon; bucatini with mussels & white wine; and the ultimate cacio e pepe; all personally tried and tested.
They’re worth every penne.
Lina Stores | Soho, King’s Cross, The City, Marylebone, Clapham, South Kensington, Shoreditch
Lina Stores is an Italian deli that first opened in 1944. Then, 75 years later, they suddenly realised that they should probably be cooking fresh pasta as well as selling it. And thus they opened a casual pasta restaurant in Soho, where, alongside a short menu of classic Italian antipasti, they sell small plates of fresh pasta topped with everything from black summer truffle to chilli crab. Needless to say, it’s proved popular, and there are now seven of their fresh pasta spots across London. You can either get a couple of dishes to yourself, or order the whole set and share. Just make sure to keep room for dessert – particularly their rich dark chocolate cake and whipped cream – washed down by a negroni or a glass of Italian wine.
Details: 51 Greek Street, Soho, London, W1D 4EH | Book a table at Lina Stores
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Padella | London Bridge, Shoreditch
It’s been eight years and you still can’t avoid queuing for Padella. Which is sort of unsurprising seeing as it comes to us from the folks behind Bib Gourmand-winner Trullo (another great pasta restaurant on this list). The original spot is a two-floor, art-deco-dressed space in Borough, where – alongside a small selection of classic cocktails (with a little creative twist) – you can tuck into the likes of Westcombe ricotta and sage ravioli; an extraordinary cacio e pepe; and tagliarini with Dorset crab; all for about a tenner. And their East London follow-up, Padella Shoreditch, has all the charms of the original (albeit in a more spacious, industrial-styled space), with the added benefit of having a smattering of tables available to book each day.
Details: Padella London Bridge: 6 Southwark Street, Borough, South London, SE1 1TQ | Padella Shoreditch: 1 Phipp Street, EC2A 4PS | It’s mostly walk-ins only, but they do take some bookings in Shoreditch.
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Bancone | Covent Garden, Soho, London Bridge
It’s another fresh pasta restaurant in Central London you can – ahem – Bancone being great – and we’re not the only ones who think that, either; Michelin has awarded the original site a Bib Gourmand. The pasta’s made freshly in-house at all three sites each day: bucatini; ditalini, silk handkerchief…ini; before being topped with everything from walnut butter & confit egg yolk, to lobster with semi-dried tomato, garlic & chilli. It’s delicious, but it isn’t going to break the bank either. And – as if that’s all not exciting enough – you can also book, all week, every week, like the good old days.
Details: Bancone Covent Garden: 39 William IV Street, WC2N 4DD | Bancone Soho: 8-10 Lower James Street, W1F 9EL | Bancone Borough Yards: Arch 213, 18 Stoney Street, SE1 9AD | Book a table at Bancone
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Legare | Tower Bridge
A Michelin Bib Gourmand-winning pasta joint tucked into a Victorian spice warehouse on the eternally atmospheric Shad Thames. Legare’s parents are a Barrafina General Manager and a Trullo sous-chef, so it’s no surprise the fresh pasta – made daily on site – hits the mark. It is, however, merely the primi in a long, inviting menu studded with the likes of white peach & lobster salmorejo; strawberry & seabass carpaccio; and fig leaf panacotta. The amaro list, coupled with a table on the cobbles outside, is all you need to complete the picture of la dolce vita.
Details: Cardamom Building, 31G Shad Thames, SE1 2YB | Book a table at Legare
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Pophams Bakery | London Fields
Yes, Pophams is a bakery. But at night, the Hackney branch morphs into a fantastic fresh pasta restaurant. The team know their way around wheat, and it’s made a natural progression to the evening menu, which typically features a quartet of pasta options (with spectacularly niche shaping inspirations). Try the capellacci dei briganti, for example (named after the hats worn by 19th century guerrilla fighters) or the spoja lorda (which you probably won’t want to hear means ‘leftover dirty dough’).
Details: 197 Richmond Road, E8 3NJ | Book a table at Pophams
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Manteca | Shoreditch
Manteca comes to us courtesy of Smokestak founder David Carter and former Kitty Fisher’s head chef Chris Leach. They’ve joined forces, combining Leach’s passion for Italian cooking (strengthened by months travelling around Napoli and Rome) with Carter’s deep-rooted knowledge of nose-to-tail, butchery, and charcuterie. The result is big bowls of fresh pappardelle with ox cheek ragu; or agnolotti dal plin (a sort of frilly ravioli) with pork and hazelnuts. There’s also a number of other non-pasta dishes, like pork lamb neck with charred cauliflower and Sicilian pomegranates, all eased down by a drinks menu of Amaro-based cocktails and wine.
Details: 49-51 Curtain Road, London, EC2A 3PT | Book a table at Manteca
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Flour & Grape | Bermondsey
Flour, grapes, and just a smattering of a few other well-selected ingredients go into a meal at this warm, laid-back eatery on Bermondsey Street. Regular items on their streamlined, all-pasta menu include roasted pork shoulder & sage tortelloni and an upmarket carbonara with guanciale, parmesan and confit egg yolk, all accompanied by top-notch Italian wines and classic desserts. It’s a no-bookings restaurant and can get mighty popular even on a quiet weekday – so it’s just as well they’ve recently converted their basement bar into an additional dining room.
Details: 214 Bermondsey Street, SE1 3TQ | Join the virtual queue here
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Oi Spaghetti | Peckham
Peckham’s Oi Spaghetti is so small you risk walking pasta… but don’t, because this unusual restaurant, housed in a shed in a car park, serves some of the best fresh pasta south of the river. We’re talking hefty piles of spaghetti topped with organic chestnut mushrooms with garlic & cream, or Sicilian anchovies and Kalamata olives – with plenty of Peronis and limoncello to wash it all down.
Details: 133 Copeland Road, Copeland Industrial Park, London, SE15 3SN | Book a table at Oi Spaghetti
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Trullo | Highbury
It’s Padella’s older sister. A handsome, two-floored Italian restaurant in North London, boasting scuffed wooden floors, dark leather booths, and enormous windows flooding the place with light. Here you can tuck into large knots of fettucine cacio e pepe, or pappardelle with beef shin ragu, without having to worry about a queue. They take reservations, all days of the week, not to mention everyone is seated at a proper table and chairs, meaning you can comfortably kick back and relax – with or without a bottle of their all-Italian wines – for as long as you please.
Details: 300-302 St. Pauls Road, North London, N1 2LH | Book a table at Trullo
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Darling’s Eatery | Hackney Wick
Some restaurants immediately transport you to Italy, with chequered tablecloths, rustic furnishings and raffia-wrapped bottles. Darling’s is not, ostensibly, that restaurant. You’ll find it, probably after some difficulty, down an industrial alleyway on Fish Island where the nearest landmark is a Shell petrol station. But once you’re cocooned inside the exceptionally stylish interiors, and you’ve taken a mouthful of hand-crafted pasta, you’ll feel a world away. The mafaldine with pork, leek & fennel ragù is a particular delight, as is the brown shrimp & pistachio paccheri. Just know that in spite of – or probably because of – its unassuming location, it’s becoming rapidly popular.
Details: 455 Wick Lane, Bow, London E3 2TB | Book a table at Darling’s
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Notto | Mayfair & Covent Garden
Notto was notto always called Notto… It was originally Otto, a smash-hit pasta delivery service from chef Phil Howard (owner of Michelin-starred Elystan Street). The ‘n’ was added to avoid any conflict with another restaurant in London called Otto. Now, with the potential naming-rights war in the rear, they’re fully focused on what they do best: fresh, handmade pasta, in eight very digestible variations, including pappardelle with slow-cooked oxtail and red wine, and a herbed ricotta ravioli number that shimmers in a creamy walnut sauce. Order at least three to share to avoid fresh pasta FOMO.
Details: Notto Piccadilly: 198-200 Piccadilly, W1J 9EZ | Notto Covent Garden: 4 Henrietta Street, WC2E 8PS | Book a table at Notto
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Giacco’s | Finsbury Park
The Blackstock Road Renaissance continues apace in Finsbury Park, where Giacco’s has recently joined the fold. At first glance it appears to be a typical neighbourhood wine bar, a cosy candlelit nook with plenty of interesting pours on the menu. The food, however, is a cut above the usual cheese & charcuterie board. The chefs here rustle up some exceptionally delicious fresh pasta dishes, like ravolione with a Genovese beef ragù and tagliatelle with short rib & smoked provola. Might want to make that glass a bottle, you’re going to be here for a while…
Details: 176 Blackstock Road, N5 1HA | Book a table at Giacco’s
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Tom’s Pasta | Hackney
The most laid-back of laid-back canteens, housed in one of the little studio spaces in Hackney Downs next to the second Brunswick East. And, what do you know, it’s run by a guy named Tom. Who makes pasta. Only this is not just any pasta: the unassailable star of the menu is the breeze block sized wedge of lasagne. Tom takes a hunk of beef shin from Ginger Pig, slow-cooks it for 16 hours until it’s melting away, layers it up with creamy béchamel, cheese, and fresh pasta, and lets it bubble away for a while longer. It’ll finally arrive at your table snowed under with a drift of finely grated parmesan. Basically, it’s pure love in a dish, and you’ll want to make an early evening booking to make sure you get yours.
Details: 17 Amhurst Terrace, London E8 2BT | Book a table at Tom’s Pasta
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Artusi | Peckham & Soho
Whilst it’s not pasta-exclusive, Italian-inspired Artusi still does some of the best pasta you’ll find in London, topped with sustainable seasonal produce from the likes of Natoora and Flock & Herd. This means (alongside a large glass from their exclusively Italian wine list) you can tuck into a bowl of bucatini with mussels and white wine, or rigatoni with Datterini tomatoes, pine nuts & ricotta – all from the comfort of their low-key, slightly Scandi space styled with wooden floors, white-washed walls, and big blackboards chalked with the daily specials.
Details: 161 Bellenden Road, Peckham, SE15 4DH | Artusi Soho: 6 Walker’s Ct, London W1F 0BT | Book a table at Artusi
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Emilia’s Crafted Pasta | St Katharine Docks, Canary Wharf, Aldgate
Emilia’s Crafted Pasta is owned by Andrew, who studied maths at university before a long trip travelling around Italy resulted in him falling in love… with pasta. In particular, Andrew took a fancy for the science behind the pairings – how the individual geometry determined which sauce suited it best. It’s an unlikely marriage between maths and pasta, and Emilia’s is the bright-eyed baby girl. The St. Katharine Docks and Canary Wharf restaurants are both set, rather romantically, by the water. Here you can kick back, crack open a bottle of wine, and watch the sunset, a plate of 4-hour slow-cooked béchamel bolognese in tow. If you’re veggie, go for the tomato and buffalo mozzarella (sounds simple, tastes delicious), followed either by a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with honey, crushed amaretti, and cantuccini biscuits, or maybe just a couple of shots of Grappa, in true post-dinner Italian style.
Details: C3, Ivory House, St Katharine Docks Wapping, London E1W 1AT | Book a table at Emilia’s Crafted Pasta
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Officina 00 | Old Street, Fitzrovia
Named after the premium-grade pasta flour, Officina 00’s USP is slightly unusual pasta dishes – things like cavatelli (small, shell-like pasta) with padrón peppers, almond pesto, and crispy coppa; or corzetti (big disc-like pasta) with wild mushroom, fennel, sausage, and parsley. For starters they’ve got cacio & pepe ravioli (a definite must-have) whilst sweets take the form of both lemon and chocolate profiteroles – again, difficult to turn down. They also offer excellent pasta making workshops, if you want to take more than a full belly home with you.
Address: 156 Old Street, London, EC1V 9BW | Officina 00 Fitzrovia: 67 Whitfield St, London W1T 4DE | Book a table at Officina 00
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Campania | Bethnal Green
Hidden down a cobbled side street off Hackney’s Columbia Road, you’ll chance upon some of the best pasta in London; an authentically rustic Italian joint, complete with its very own nonna, hand-rolling pasta the way her nonna taught her. A former dairy, Campania still wears the original dark wooden frontage, adorned with a faded ‘S Jones’. The inside too is just as charming; wooden slatted walls and a concrete floor are offset by hanging filament lights and glass jars stuffed full of flowers. It also boasts a little cobbled patio in the middle where, tucked away from the outside bustle, you can feast on the likes of gnudi dressed in butter, parmesan, and crispy sage leaves, or big plates of seafood spaghetti – as well as a whole range of other Italian fare. The portions are generous, and the price-tag isn’t crippling, but it’s the atmosphere – alive and buzzy – that keeps people coming back.
Details: 23 Ezra St, Bethnal Green, London E2 7RH | Book a table at Campania
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Eataly | Liverpool Street
Looking for fresh pasta on the trot? Eataly – a vast, two-storey food paradise dedicated to Italian produce – has a fresh pasta counter in their ground floor cafeteria (alongside a huge double-height cocktail bar, a wood-fired oven putting out Roman-style pizza by the slice, a deli, a bakery, a wine bar, and some tables to eat everything at). It’s basically the Subway of fresh pasta, where you can pick out your carb and sauce of choice, and ten minutes later it’ll be ready to go (or to enjoy outside on their terrace, for the full Italian effect). And if you’re thinking, pff, a food paradise should really have a proper sit-down pasta restaurant and a dedicated pasta-making workshop space for masterclasses… then don’t worry, they have those too.
Details: 135 Bishopsgate, EC2M 3YD
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Trattoria Brutto | Farringdon
Sure, Brutto isn’t specifically a pasta restaurant. It’s an ‘ugly but good’ trattoria specialising in the hearty regional cooking of Tuscany… which, as it happens, does involve its fair share of fresh pasta. The region borders Emilia-Romagna, and this is probably the best spot to find authentic tortelloni in brodo without visiting Bologna. Aside from that, there’s also dishes like penne con vodka and rabbit ragù-smothered pappardelle… plus £5 negronis to boot.
Details: 36-37 Greenhill Rents, Cowcross St, EC1M 6BN | Book a table at Trattoria Brutto
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Burro e Salvia | Shoreditch
One half pastificio, one half trattoria, Burro e Salvia has been comforting Shoreditch workers for over a decade. The moment you step into the zen-like space, you’ll feel your stress melt away. All thoughts will be consumed by pasta. The set lunch allows you to try the week’s special and a dessert for £20, or you can come in the evening for a more extensive selection, bookended by starters made with top-quality produce, and light but satisfying desserts. The signature butter, sage & ricotta ravioli with beef & pork has been on the menu since 2013 for a reason.
Details: 52 Redchurch Street, London E2 7DP | Book a table at Burro e Salvia
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Noci | Islington, Battersea, Shoreditch, Richmond
The debut restaurant from ex-Bancone and Tavolino chef Louis Korovilas has quickly quadrupled. And it’s the kind of easy-going but consistently delicious place that every neighbourhood needs. As you might have guessed from his CV – and its inclusion on this list – the star of the show is fresh pasta, dressed up with everything from seared scallops to veal and pork Genovese ragu. However, you’ll also find a selection of Sicilian small plates to start (get the‘nduja arancini) and the likes of whipped dark chocolate gelato for dessert. Topped with frosted pistachios and candied kumquats of course.
Details: Book a table at Noci
You know what goes nicely with pasta? Wine. Take a look at our guide to the best wine bars in London.