Padella truly changed the London pasta game. The city is now chock-a-bloc with excellent hand-rolled fresh pasta and you have Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda to thank: first for opening the excellent Islington eatery Trullo, then for the debut Padella in Borough Market in 2016, which was followed by a Shoreditch location.
Ten years later comes the duo’s statement West End opening: a two-floor, 80-seat Padella just off the south end of Carnaby Street. Step through the door and devotees of the original restaurant will find themselves in familiar surroundings: a simple but sleek establishment with stools in the window, bulbous mid-century lampshades and framed fashion mags on the walls.
The pici cacio e pepe purrs, and remains one of the city’s great beige foodie wonders
Three restaurants in 10 years is a steady and certainly not rapid rate of expansion. Would Padella’s founders prefer to take their time and not overstretch? Padella Soho certainly feels that way, like a chain primed for take-off but never losing sight of the foundations of its success.
Padella’s classics are as dependable as ever. The pici cacio e pepe purrs, and its juicy mouthfuls of salt, pepper and butter remain one of the city’s great beige foodie wonders. Similarly coloured ravioli satisfies a similar part of the mouth with semi-translucent sacks of crumbly ricotta. The luminous green spinach tagliarini, with its beaming egg yolk, isn’t quite so immortal – a tad on the stuffy side – but undeniably punchy with its tongue-tingling nettle. Our actually-Italian waiter advised us to get more sourdough for scarpetta – the word for mopping up pasta sauce with bread – and thank god for that, it saved me from licking the bowl. Padella’s third outpost is very much a scarpetta sort of place.
It’s not just the pasta that remains high-calibre at Padella Soho. Antipasti featured a cool plump of burrata with so-the-cliché-goes drinkable olive oil, plus stalks of asparagus with even more – though I’m certainly not complaining – butter and pepper. The drinks and desserts lists were brief but well-curated: wine on tap and five classic cocktails created by Lyaness’ Mr Lyan, scoops of crisply-flavoured ice cream and dollops of creamy tiramisu. And it’s as suitable for a drawn-out meal as it is a quick bite as Padella always has been. It remains reasonably priced too, with a decadent meal (including booze) for around £50 per head.
Downsides? Well, there are few specific reasons to eat at this Padella, as opposed to the other two. The food, drink and overall experience is pretty much the same. That said, the old-school trattoria décor is notably more vibey than the Shoreditch edition’s cold metal, tall windows and cavernous ceilings. Plus, unlike the Borough outpost, you don’t have to join a virtual queue to eat here.
The vibe The first West End outpost from a modern London food icon.
The food One of the city’s great modern pasta restaurants, doing what it does best.
The drink Cocktails from one of London’s most celebrated mixologists, plus half a dozen very drinkable wines on tap.
Time Out tip Eating with a big crew? Padella Soho has an eight-person ‘hidden room’ in its plushly-upholstered downstairs.