Pasta Remoli is now open in Dickens Yard

Over the last few months there's been a flurry of new openings in the Dickens Yard development and this fan of Italian cuisine was particularly delighted to be invited to try out Pasta Remoli.

It's the third branch to open in London and chef and owner Simone Remoli was busy working and overseeing the lively family friendly restaurant when we visited.

He told us that he was very happy to have opened in Ealing and judging by the warm atmosphere and many contented customers the feeling would appear to be mutual.

Pasta is obviously the main draw and has been a long standing passion project for Mr Remoli who is himself from (arguably) the capital of pasta - Rome.  However, throughout his years working in some of London's top restaurants he was not impressed with the quality on offer here and vowed one day to open his own place, serving traditional homemade pasta dishes in a quick, reasonable and authentic way. So, in 2011 in Westfield Stratford the first Pasta Remoli was born, the second was Finsbury Park and now he's here in Ealing.

The Pasta Remoli guide to pasta heaven involves three steps : “Choose your fresh pasta, choose your sauce, choose your cheese”. There's a great variety of choices on offer and for those who might find themselves bewildered there are plenty of chefs suggestions all ready to go, so there's no need to worry!

After a lovely fresh and colourful mozzarella salad starter, and a few nibbles of my companion's tasty prawn and calamari platter we got down to the main event.

I decided to try one of Remoli's signature dishes because well, I felt I should ( and it's a rare occasion I get out to places that have lobster on the menu). My carnivore friend however was feeling the need for meat.

My fresh lobster linguine was a delight. The pasta was fresh and light, the sauce creamy and spicy (but not too much so) and the lobster was a joy! A very satisfying dish.

Steak (I'm told) can be a difficult one to get just right and has resulted in disappointment on previous food outings, but my guest had nothing but praise for this huge, succulent, T-bone which came with herby roast potatoes and a side salad.

We washed our mains down with a bottle of red, and top marks for the manager's recommendation. This full bodied Primitivio Salento (from Puglia) was perfect.

We polished off our meals with a lovely tiramisu and a baked pannacotta with a gluten free chocolate cake.

Suffice to say all our plates were cleared and we both agreed the standard of food was impressive.

The restaurant was bustling and it was great to see a whole range of customers, from the very young to the somewhat older, all being well looked after by the friendly and helpful staff.

Pasta is a simple dish but (in my opinion) one of the greatest comfort foods available, but ( god forbid!) if you are feeling a bit ..meh re pasta there are plenty of other choices available here too.

January can often be a really bleak month so maybe it's time to grab la dolce vita, cheer yourself up and treat yourself/ family and friends?

Annemarie Flanagan

16th January 2019