Restaurants

Chef Mario Magli and barman Giorgio Pili met while working at Neal Street restaurant. They subsequently worked at Passione before boldly opening their own restaurant here. It’s a modest place, with rich red walls, clean-lined blond wood chairs and a few rather clichéd pictures on the walls – perhaps for reassuring a conservative local market. Sensibly, prices have been kept very low (wines start at £2.05 a glass), while the food is several notches above that of an average north London trattoria. A generous bread basket features semolina-dusted rosemary focaccia, tangy tomato pinwheels and simple white rolls, all made on the premises. The likes of red snapper ragù, and a sauce of Italian sausage, fennel seeds and tomatoes, are paired with superb egg pasta or Magli’s own whisper-light gnocchi: a refreshing change from the carbonara, bolognese and marinara of lesser establishments. Monkfish rolled in bacon and served with spinach, raisins and pine nuts was every bit as good as similar dishes found in the West End. To finish, a very classy, very classic tiramisu, and tart of the day: a jammy rhubarb number perfectly in tune with the season.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009