Pasta is one of my favourite foods and brings me a lot of joy. I love how diverse it is- with a simple spaghetti with oil, garlic and chilli being just as delicious as a more complex seafood linguini. This is why I wanted to check out ‘Pastaio’, hoping it would fulfil my pasta cravings/dreams- and boy it did.
The day I went was idyllic, with the sun shining in the London sky as I walked in the backstreets from London Kings Cross to Carnaby street, passing different small London parks and enjoying seeing people out and about (something that hasn’t been a normality over the past year). Tucked in the busy Carnaby street was Pastaio with a beautiful, marbled and vibrant décor. I went with one of my best friends who I hadn’t seen in a little while and, being very similar in terms of our love for food, we decided that the best way to catch up was over a meal. We started off with the focaccia and anchovies which were dressed in olive oil, orange zest and vin santo. I am a big lover of fish and the anchovies were incredible, with the orange zest adding a beautiful citrusy note that paired so perfectly with the robust flavour of the olive oil. And then the main event- the pasta itself. I chose casarecce with basil pesto, green beans, potato and stracciatella. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente so it had a slight bite to it. The stracciatella was so creamy and complimented the earthy flavour of the pesto so well. We finished with a tiramisu because it would simply be rude not to! Tiramisu is one of my absolute favourite desserts and this one didn’t disappoint. The sponge was delicate and the bitterness of the coffee perfectly balanced the sweetness of the mascarpone.
My only regret is that I didn’t order more! Although, from following Pastaio on Instagram, I have found out that every Thursday at their Westfield Branch they offer ‘Infinity Pasta’ in which you can eat as much pasta as you want for £25. That sounds like heaven to me so I might have to check that out soon!
If you, like myself, are a pasta lover, I recommend trying Pastaio. I always find that if a restaurant has a small menu their food is delicious because they are able to put effort and love into that food and this is true with Pastaio. You can taste the freshness of the pasta and appreciate the flavour pairings. As well as the food being a joy to eat, I also must mention the amazing service we received. The servers were friendly and attentive and made me feel relaxed at all times. Overall, I loved everything and will be sure to return soon to try some more dishes!
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