Padella Shoreditch — Restaurant in London

Little bit of a heartbreaker this one. For years I've wanted to go to Padella and I finally did it. My logic was always that I can cook pasta better than any restaurant so why waste the money? Went with my brothers and we shared three pastas, the gorgonzola and sweet red onion, the beef shin ragu, and the crab pastas. I'll start with all the positives... Flavours were good, though I wouldn't go as far as to say extraordinary. Service and ambience very good. For years I've watched people queuing at Borough market, it was nice to experience the same food in a restaurant environment.

Now for the not so good... £51 for three pasta dishes is way too much. We got no starters and no drinks other than tap water. I understand the prices of the pasta on the menu are less, but when you whack on service charge, this is what it came to, which averages out at £17 a plate. Sorry but that's too much. We all rated the plates as being worth £12-13, no more.

One of the reasons they are not worth more is because of the portion size. I'm sorry but they are just not big enough for a grown man. After we left we had to go and eat a bit more food in Spitalfields. None of us were satisfied at all and we are not big guys.

All in all, considering I've waited years to eat Padella's pasta, I'd have to call it a bit of a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, the taste was good, we all thought the crab was third best despite being the most expensive. The beef shin ragu and gorgonzola pastas were pretty good. In saying that, and I don't mean to be egotistical, but I can prepare better pasta at home every day of the week. I get that I'm Italian and a decent cook but that's all the more reason for me to have higher standards than most. Anyone who says these plates are 'wow' are exaggerating or have lower standards. That's just my humble opinion, I'm still saying it's a decent plate of pasta.

Sorry if this review has come across negative, it's just honest. Despite giving them three stars and not being blown away, I'd still recommend anyone who reads this to try it. Just please bear in mind the portions are not big and it is expensive. The flavours are good enough. It's the kind of place that professionals in the area who want a good quick pasta that won't make them bloated can go to at lunchtime and leave feeling energised...

I’ve been recommended Padella a few times, a couple of years ago. We went for my brother’s birthday on Saturday.

We were mostly disappointed with the food. The Crab tagliarini was under seasoned and watery - the sauce did not hold to the pasta at all. The beef shin ragu also under seasoned. The pici cacio e pepe was tasty, but felt a smaller portion than the rest. I’m aware they may be portioned by weight and it would look smaller but we really felt it was the leftovers from a pan. The n’duja, mascarpone and lemon was tasty, and a nice consistency.

The starters were nice, but very simple, and most were likely not made in house so difficult to get wrong (sourdough, burrata and salame)

We were told that there was only one portion of tiramisu left, on a Saturday night, which is disappointing considering tiramisu is better when left to set for a while so it wouldn’t be difficult to definitely have enough for a Saturday evening service as leftovers can be served the following day no problem. The chocolate sorbet was absolutely delicious though, definitely the highlight of the meal for me.

The service was alright - it was prompt and relatively pleasant but very impersonal and not going out of their way to help or listen to our requests.

This is a shame because I got the feeling Padella is a restaurant that started off great, with good reviews and high quality food. Maybe that has got the better of them and they are trying to churn it out - all of our food came super rapidly and it was a very quick dining experience. Definitely resulting in a drop in quality, maybe victims of their own success.

I also mentioned in my booking that we were celebrating a birthday but there was no mention of anything on the evening. I’m not sure why they ask in the booking process if there is an occasion if this is not going to be acknowledged in any way.

I am a chef and I have lots of front of house experience in restaurants, which is why I make these comments on the food and service. It’s worth noting though that my family felt the same towards both the food...

We arrived 15 minutes or so late, I tried multiple times to call to let them know we were running late, however they did not pick up. When I got here they moaned that we were late, and I informed them that I tried to call but they said the phone number on google was wrong.

We got sat at the bar, from the beginning we were rushed. We decided fairly quickly what we wanted to order. We received the burrata and I divided it up in three and placed it on our plates, the burrata plate was straight away taken. I still wanted the olive oil on the plate, I moaned to my friends and the waitress heard me and brought the plate back

We received the 4 pastas we ordered amongst three of us. The nettle tagliarini didn’t taste like nettles at all, it ought to have a grassy taste to it. The cacio Pepe, the pici was beautifully cooked, but for a cacio Pepe there was no where near as much pepper as there should be. As soon as one pasta was done, there was no time to scrap the plate or even clean the plate with a piece of bread as the plate was quickly taken from us.

After finishing the food, I asked for the bill as I wanted to get out. I told the waitress we felt really rushed. She mentioned she needed the table and we only had 1hr and a half. This should have been told to us. I’m more than understanding when it comes to time management and would have been good to know that we had a small amount of time. However we didn’t need someone eye hacking us, where it got to the point where I ate the last pasta piece and the plate was quickly taken.

Really unpleasant service, average food. If you enjoy someone watching over you then...