The biggest surprise at Padella Soho is the drinks. You do not walk into a pasta bar in Soho expecting one of the best martinis you have had in London, and yet there it was. The cocktails are made in collaboration with Mr Lyan studio, which explains a lot, and they are properly considered rather than thrown onto a list bolted for the sake of having one.
Then the pasta, which is what everyone comes for. We tasted some of the seasonal ones and some of the classics. The pesto is our son’s favourite, and he would eat it every day if we let him. The fettuccine with ’nduja, lemon and mascarpone is the one I keep thinking about, rich and sharp at once, with the lemon playing a stronger part than you would expect. And the pici cacio e pepe, the dish that made this place famous, still thick and chewy with almost nothing else going on, which is the whole trick of it.
All three of those are ones we cook at home now, and we have written up our versions of each. The pici is the one to attempt first, and the recipe is here. Rolling it takes longer than you think and needs nothing beyond your hands, which makes it a good slow weekend project. The ’nduja fettuccine is the fastest of the three on a weeknight, and that one is here. The pesto, here, is the one to make with a child at the table, since it all goes in at once and there is nothing to burn.
Back at the restaurant, the wine is on tap and comes by the carafe, which is the sensible way to drink at a place like this. Nothing to commit to, no ceremony, just good wine poured at the temperature it should be.
Salted caramel ice cream for my son. Tiramisu to share, and it’s a reason I would go back.
Note: Padella provided support for the reporting of this story.