✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Food & Drink

Pastaio, Soho ★★★★★

30 Oct 17 – 02 Nov 18, Mon-Sun 12pm - late

The most decadent snack in Soho? We're swooning over the fried mozzarella and nduja sandwich at chef/restaurateur Stevie Parle's new hand-made pasta restaurant

By CW Contributor on 6/9/2017

5 CW readers are interested
Pastaio, Soho [STAR:4]
Pastaio, Soho [STAR:4]
Pastaio, Soho 4 Pastaio, Soho Isobel Rodol
All hail carbs. Handmade pasta restaurants are definitely having a moment. Who hasn’t queued for Padella in Borough?


So we’re really keen to see how River Café trained prolific chef/restaurateur Stevie Parle's handmade pasta restaurant, Carnaby’s Pastaio, measures up. We find out that it is not just about the pasta.


Yes, it may be called Pastaio (which translates as 'cooks who make pasta by hand') and full-marks for the kitchen team hand-making fresh pasta in the window, but it is the fried mozzarella, honey and nduja sandwich that stays in our memory. It doesn't look much, but it is the late night snack of dreams: oozy, spicy with a hint of sweetness and satisfyingly wicked. Our only complaint, we'd like a bigger sandwich or a double order!


Alternative antipasti on offer are, a little less inspiring: a roast pepper with anchovy is simply that, though at £4 a portion it is hard to quibble. And, yes, clams cooked in white wine, butter and garlic – a tad salty – slip down a treat. Though, honestly we're completely in love with Rambla's take on clams with spider crab butter and little shards of jamon.





There are just six main pasta dishes – what matters really is the texture of the pasta – here it is spot on. We can't resist cacio e pepe bucatini made only with sheep’s cheese (cacio), and pepper (pepe); the dish from Ancient Rome that's got us wondering how such a pared down dish can be so delectable, really delivers. The sauce is silky, creamy and coats the pasta exactly as it should. A more robust pasta with slow-cooked spicy sausage and malloredus is deeply, richly satisfying. Both are less than a tenner.


As an aside to carbs, there's a multi-coloured heritage tomato salad with heady just picked perfume and castelfranco, that pleasingly pink, slightly bitter Italian chicory with pomegranate and sharp pecorino.


Desserts are straightforward too. It's not the best or lightest tiramisu I've ever tasted but it delivers on flavour. The chocolate and cherry tart is the stand-out for a return visit, or clementine sorbet – a refreshingly down-to-earth £2 a scoop.





The prosecco slushies are the way to start a meal. It is made overnight with lemon to impart a zesty tang. The playful note of drinks is in sync with the contemporary, vibe-y fun of the restaurant, designed by Tom Dixon's Design Research Studio. Seating is at communal terrazzo tables and we note that diners – a mix of shoppers, tourists, foodie fans of Stevie Parle, clubbers after a pre-night out carb load – really do get talking with each other. The whole place has an addictive, convivial high-energy buzz.
.
The pasta theme has literally been taken to the wall. There's a large mural designed by graphic designer Rob Lowe, aka. Supermundane, whose signature geometric images depict rigatoni, ravioli and spaghetti.


Sixty years after Richard Dimbleby’s 1957 spoof documentary about the spaghetti harvest in Switzerland, pasta really does seem to be growing on trees in today’s London. And we're happy to harvest it – especially at Pastaio.


Price: dinner for two with aperitivo and wine £40.00+


Click here to book

by Sudi Pigott

What Pastaio, Soho
Where 19 Ganton Street, Soho, London, W1F 7BU | MAP
Nearest tube Piccadilly Circus (underground)
When 30 Oct 17 – 02 Nov 18, Mon-Sun 12pm - late
Price £n/a
Website Click here to book



Most popular

Best London Exhibition to see now
Top exhibitions on now in London
Things to do in London this weekend: 9–11 June
Things to do in London this weekend: 9–11 June
Irene Maiorino and Alba Rohrwacher in My Brilliant Friend season 4, HBO/Sky Atlantic (Photo: HBO)
My Brilliant Friend, season 4, Sky Atlantic: first-look photo, release date, plot, cast

Editor's Picks

Things to do in August: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled,1982 Courtesy Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. © The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York. Photo: Studio Tromp, Rotterdam
Things to do in London: September 2017 edition
London Theatre Guide: best plays on now in London (Photograph: Peter Lewicki)
London Theatre Guide: best plays on now in London, 2023
Henrietta, one of Covent Garden's newest offerings
Best Restaurants in Covent Garden
Tin Star, Sky Atlantic
TV September 2017: the best of what to watch
The best 2018 Edinburgh Fringe shows coming to London
The best 2018 Edinburgh Fringe shows coming to London
best bathroom accessories
Best interior buys: The bathroom edit
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

We recommend nearby

  • The Araki

    The first Japanese restaurant in Britain to be awarded three Michelin stars, The Araki has a simple premise: one menu, eleven courses, all sushi. This is seriously high-end, gourmet stuff and you won't experience anything else like it. The restaurant itself is breathtaking with Edo period-inspired décor and a counter made from a two hundred year-old Japanese cypress.


    Read more...
    Book Map
  • Social Eating House

    Social Eating House has a dream menu of thoughtfully sourced British ingredients put together in an unexpected yet wholly seductive manner. For a real piece of action in the kitchen, book to sit at the chef's table – it really does immerse you.

    Read more...
    Book Map
  • Sartoria

    Located in the bespoke tailoring district of Savile Row, Sartoria serves up top-quality Italian cuisine all day long in a setting designed by David d'Almada. From mouthwatering risotto to refreshing desserts, Chef Francesco Mazzei's Calabrian roots really come through in this extensive menu. We particularly recommend sitting outside on the heated terrace for a truly atmospheric dining experience.

    Book Map
5

Pastaio

Soho

New restaurants in London

London restaurants 2017

You might like

  • Food and Wine Evening with Hankies and Vino Beano, Hankies Restaurant

    Food and Wine Evening with Hankies and Vino Beano, Hankies Restaurant

  • Coffee and Walnut cakes, Jacob the Angel

    Jacob the Angel: The Palomar team opens a new Covent Garden site

  • Jean George Vongerichten will return to London this spring

    Jean-Georges at The Connaught review ★★★★★

  • Pamban Chai and Coffee House review [STAR:3]

    Pamban Chai and Coffee House review ★★★★★

  • The Elephant at the Gardening Society [STAR:4]

    The Elephant at the Gardening Society ★★★★★

  • Beer at The Clifton

    The Clifton, St John's Wood ★★★★★



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×