Padella Shoreditch
So, cuffing season refers to a period of time when people who usually prefer to be single look for short term partnerships to pass the colder months of the year. Failing to form any short, meaningless partnerships lately, I celebrated cuffing season over delicious food and a couple of Negronis.
If you’re lucky enough to get in, Padella never fails you - unlike cuffing season. The design is exactly as pretty as you imagine, with lashings of red speckled marble, polished concrete, and richly coloured wood varnished to a glowing shine, designed to evoke those glamorous Riva boats that scoot up and down the Italian waterways. The service was particularly cheerful that evening: the bartender effortlessly talked us into the lemon & thyme fused house Negroni on arrival. Worth noting that the cocktail menu was co-created with Mr Lyan of Lyaness which, based on previous experiments, is always a great promise. I’m sure it ended up being one of those nights when I didn’t mean to consume alcohol, yet somehow found myself tapping my feet to the beat in an underground club at 2 am because life was just too good to go home early.
These are my favourite kind of nights. I can so easily get lost in deep conversations with friends, discussing just how much we’re mistreated at work, how we can’t find our values in the world, how one of us got laid the last time we went on holiday. I’m pretty sure that story belonged to my favourite black book by the way.
Back to Padella - I always order the same which started to make me think that I may be loosing my edge. I always loved experimenting, but lately my choices became way too predictable. Is it a very early mid-life crisis or is it the world’s best Pici Cacio e Pepe, I wonder.
Padella is the culmination of Tim and Jordan’s long held dream to open a pasta bar serving fresh, hand rolled pasta with delicious sauces and fillings inspired by their trips to Italy. Tim began his career as an apprentice at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Restaurant back in the days and his Cacio e Pepe recipe is now a city-wide favourite in London and one you just can’t get tired of.
Padella’s Cacio e Pepe is a conversation starter with strangers. It’s an opportunity to bond with existing friends. It’s so much more than pecorino and peppercorn.
You can find Padella at London Bridge (virtual queuing only) or Shoreditch.
Here’s Tim preparing my favourite dish in the world:
