LDNGuide
5 Pasta Spots To Eat Out, Help Out, And Fall Out Of
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
The government’s ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ scheme offers diners a discount of up to £10 per person, excluding booze, when they eat out from Monday to Wednesday throughout August.
Pasta isn’t just an every-person food, it’s an every-season food. As good in January as it is in August. In fact, the idea of a bowl of vongole, alongside a bottle of something crisp and thoroughly alcoholic, is pretty much our definition of summer. If you feel the same way, then you’ll enjoy these five pasta spots taking part in the EOTHO scheme.
We’ve got more guides if you want to ‘Eat Out To Help Out’, from where you can get a full meal for a tenner, to the best vegetarian and vegan spots and the best places for outdoor dining.
The Spots
At this point in time, Amazonian tribes have probably heard of Padella. But its mainstream appeal doesn’t make it’s any less delicious and any less good value. Their £6 pici cacio e pepe is a wonder of our world, and throw in a 50% discount to the bill, and you’re looking at a gloriously heavy session of ravioli, pappardelle, and tagliarini.
If silk handkerchiefs make you think of a magician then you clearly have not spent enough time at Bancone. The central London pasta spot’s Covent Garden location is still closed, so head to Soho to ordering their silk handkerchiefs with walnut butter and confit egg yolk. Pastas are around £9-13 here so, with the EOTHO discount, your bill shouldn’t be too heavy.
The older sibling to Padella, Trullo isn’t just a pasta-focussed restaurant. The Highbury spot cooks food from all over Italy, and they always have a few handmade pastas on. The pappardelle beef shin ragu is a classic, but whatever’s on, you won’t be disappointed.
Nicolas Cage doesn’t make the best films in the world and nor does Gloria make the best pasta in the world, but both are very entertaining. The Shoreditch trattoria prides itself on OTT-ness, and if you live along the same lines then you’ll want the carbonara. It’s got a whack of cheese, an unashamed dash of cream, and whole load of guanciale. Go in the evening and you’ll get it mixed table side in a wheel of pecorino. Subtle, right.
Ciao Bella doesn’t pretend that its pasta is handmade, and nobody who goes to Ciao Bella cares. It’s London’s best old school Italian restaurant and that’s got almost nothing to do with the food. The pasta is solid. Order the spaghetti al cartoccio - a seafood pasta in a white wine sauce - and you’ll be happy. Have a few drinks and sit outside on the ‘terrace’ and you’ll be absolutely delighted.
