In the heart of Fitzrovia, you will find a rather understated eatery named Al Dente, which also happens to be a pasta lab and wine shop. Known in Italy as pastifici, these are places where fresh pasta is made daily and it’s where you can get a quick, fresh meal as well as buy ingredients to use at home.
And when we say lab we don’t mean somewhere where you’re sprayed for decontamination and given a white coat, face mask and little blue slippers. No, Al Dente looks much more like a traditional cafe-restaurant.
We tried three of their pasta dishes; the tonnarelli cacio e pepe with pecorino, parmesan and black pepper; spaghettoni alla carbonara and our absolute favourite paccheri al ragù with minced beef and tomato sauce that was bursting with flavour. All the pasta was super fresh, but this dish, for us, was the one. We even asked for more focaccia to mop up the last of the sauce. What-are-you-gonna-do!
You’ve got two options for dessert – the tiramisù and the cannoli – and both are rich, sweet and insanely satisfying. Wine is plentiful and the staff are only too happy to help you pick out a bottle.
Small, cosy and perfect for a quick bite (or takeaway) Al Dente is super tasty and very affordable, with their most expensive dish rocking in at £8.95. Winning.
51 Goodge Street, London Fitzrovia, W1T 1TG
pastificioaldente.com