LDNReview
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Papi
Included In
Girls just wanna have fun and so do diners. In Papi, London has a much-needed restaurant that understands that. The small plates spot is as eclectic as a restaurant in a box-fresh apartment block in London Fields can be. The disco ball twinkles, the playlist pumps everything from Drake to jungle, and there’s a waffle topped with cheese ice cream. Charming, sometimes chaotic service is fuelled by a funky wine list and for all the shiny Shoreditchification of Hackney, Papi has personality. So much so the vibrations of this room are even better than the food.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
There’s no lack of fine restaurants in this area, but Papi feels a little less serious. The downstairs bar fills up fast and the red pleather chaise lounge in the toilets tells you that people are here for a long time, as well as a good one. Sit at the counter and you’ll feel the bubbling heat of the kitchen first-hand. Only no one seems to care because tasters from that far-reaching wine list are being poured all over the room. Dates are giggling and staff are swooping in with a light-as-a-feather, ricotta-smothered garlic bread when the moment is right. The menu is similarly fun-loving, lawless, whatever you want to call it. Brilliant, dinky marinated cuttlefish summer rolls, so-so prawn toast wings. Creative inconsistency is just part of Papi’s nature.
Excitement and experimentation aren’t top of mind for everyone. So if you’re looking for a dependable meal, you’re better off going elsewhere. But if twists and turns get you going, then Papi is a restaurant worth sticking with. The menu changes more often than your coloured-lense sunglasses, and there will be dishes that triumph and those that need to try less. What’s guaranteed is knowing service and a good time. Which goes to show that Papi isn’t performative, it’s just finding its place.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Oysters
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
White Asparagus, Anchovy, Pork Fat
Langoustine Meunière
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Garlic Bread With Cheese
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Tartare
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Cuttlefish Summer Roll
photo credit: Jake Missing
Some Wings
Brown Butter Waffle With Cheese Ice Cream