If you haven’t already visited this piece of pasta heaven, grab a fellow pasta lover (shouldn’t be difficult) and go go go! If you have been to Borough Market will have no doubt marveled at the winding queue of people always to be found outside Padella, and believe me it’s for good reason! As is the trend, Padella is a no reservations restaurant, meaning you can expect a long wait for a table, but believe me, it is worth it! I arrived twenty minutes after their opening time (5 pm), and they already had a two-hour wait. Luckily we had planned for this and so we added our names to the waiting list, before going down the road to The London Grind for a couple of cocktails and a catch up while we waited for the text telling us that our table was ready.  

N.B. If you are too hungry to wait for your pasta I suggest arriving ten minutes before opening if you can, and you will be whisked inside as soon as they open, without the wait!

The restaurant is on two floors, and on the ground floor, marble counters surround the kitchen which is the main point of interest. If you enjoy watching gorgeous men preparing Italian food (I mean who doesn’t), then this is the perfect place for a little dinner theatre.

The menu is short, but if you love pasta you will have no problems ordering far too much and still not breaking the bank, with pasta dishes ranging from £4 to £11.50 and glasses of wine on tap from £4. The menu is always changing, which is an excuse to go back again and again and again, right?

To start with, the menu offers classic Italian Antipasti such as Burrata and Carpaccio, and sourdough bread, still warm from the oven, with new season Fiorano olive oil 2018 that I could have happily eaten all night long. The Burrata came with cracked pepper with the same rich Fiorano olive oil that came with the bread and was deliciously creamy, and so much more than a sum of its parts. As this is a no judgment foodie zone I don’t mind telling you that I polished off the Burrata single-handedly, and have absolutely zero regrets!

I suggest getting a few pasta dishes to share, as believe me you will want to try as many dishes as possible, and it is the Italian way after all! The Pici Cacio & Pepe was my personal favourite and an absolute classic, who knew pasta could taste this good?? The gloriously rich Pappardelle with 8hr Dexter beef shin ragu was the ultimate comfort food and I would happily have eaten three of them if my tummy would let me. If they sold the ragu in jars I would be their first customer! Sadly, we were far too full of pasta to try any of the desserts, but I will absolutely be coming back to try the Rhubarb and Almond tart, oh and another Burrata of course…

I was slightly doubtful about the pasta palace living up to its hype (and the queue), but Padella more than came through! It may have ruined pasta in every other restaurant outside of Italy for me, but I have to say it was worth it.

It is safe to say that I have fallen tortellini in love with Padella…