Pasta Nostra — Restaurant in London

It is with a genuinely heavy heart that I write this review. I’ve waited several weeks before sharing it, simply because the experience was so upsetting and humiliating that I needed time to even process what happened. I’ve never felt so disrespected and mistreated in any restaurant, anywhere in the world, and I sincerely hope no one else has to go through what I did.

I had booked a table for a special goodbye dinner with six of my close colleagues. We arrived at 7pm and were seated upstairs. The restaurant was quite busy due to several celebrations, and we understood that delays could possibly happen. We ordered our starters, mains, and tried to order virgin passion fruit mojitos; only to be told they had run out of passion fruit. Disappointing, but we tried to remain positive.

Our starters arrived in reasonable time, but then we waited over an hour for our mains. When we inquired, the waiter said the chef was working alone and reassured us that complimentary desserts would be offered for the inconvenience. We were understanding and waited patiently, but it became increasingly difficult as we were all hungry and tired.

By around 9:30pm; over two hours after being seated, we were visibly fed up. I asked to speak to the manager and unknowingly approached the owner, who awkwardly deflected by saying Charlie (our waiter) was the manager, and then quickly disappeared downstairs. Suddenly, a pregnant woman came upstairs, someone we had not dealt with at all throughout the evening, who didn’t introduce herself, offer an apology, or show any empathy. She simply took control and brushed everything off with a dismissive attitude, saying the chef was alone so delays were to be expected.

I tried to let it go as the food had finally arrived. But to make matters worse, the pastas were undercooked and tasteless and my dish came with Parmesan on it, despite me clearly ordering it without. I do not eat Parmesan for religious reasons, vegetarian or not, and when I politely explained that this was an error, her response was aggressive and defensive. Instead of correcting the mistake, she began shouting at me in front of everyone, saying the dish was vegetarian and yelling, “the customer is not always right.” Her colleague, fists clenched, whispered to her, “you’re handling this better than I am,” clearly furious and on the verge of confrontation. It was genuinely intimidating and deeply upsetting. All because I stated I would not order a dish with Parmesan as I do not like the taste of it and automatically remove it as I usually cannot eat it for religious reasons.

All of this after serving us our food over two hours late and getting my order wrong. They then began speaking negatively about me in front of us, openly, at the bar behind us. I calmly asked them to please discuss me away from our group, only for the woman to flip the situation and claim she was being attacked because she was pregnant; despite no one raising their voice or even asking to speak to her in the first place. It was emotionally manipulative and completely inappropriate.

Charlie, the waiter supposedly managing the floor, never came to speak to us again. The owner didn’t reappear until the very end when the situation got very tense and I wanted to leave, when the damage had already been done. We left with the mains removed from the bill, but the emotional toll was lasting. I was humiliated in front of my colleagues and went home in tears. I didn’t eat that night. I genuinely cried myself to sleep out of hunger and embarrassment.

This was hands down the worst dining experience of my life. The way I was spoken to and treated, especially when I was calm and simply trying to explain a dietary concern, was not just unprofessional, it was inhumane. No customer should ever be made to feel unsafe, disrespected, or verbally attacked like that.

If you value being treated with even basic courtesy, I urge you to avoid this place. I wish I had paid more attention to the reviews that mentioned rude staff, every word of...

Pasta Nostra (which translates to ‘our pasta’) is a new Italian restaurant in Old Street offering freshly made, affordable pasta. The chefs, Wilfred Mafham and Luca Cianti, have great experience from Michelin-starred Trinity and Bistro Union, Pastaficio and Restaurant ‘Ours’. We also had the pleasure of meeting co business owner, Ian, who is very passionate about Pasta Nostra.

The restaurant is a relaxed two storied venue with a covered courtyard and seating directly outside the venue. It reminded me of an Italian wine bar but with the added atmosphere of watching the chefs prep in the open kitchen.

The menu is kept simple with a variety of small plates, pastas and a couple of desserts. We kicked off with an excellent Negroni Frizzante and Aperol Spritz and a complimentary appetiser of Panzanella which is a bread salad soaked in vinegar and olive oil.

We just had to try a variety of small plates so opted for:

Focaccia (£3) Crispy Prawn with Parmesan Foam (£3) Selection of Italian Salumi & Salume Bun (£7) Burrata, Gazpacho, Chili EVO (£6) Arancini Carbonara (£5)

Everything looked and tasted so fresh (obviously the best way!). I was surprised at how much I loved the prawn with the parmesan foam. We absolutely recommend getting a couple of these.

The Focaccia was so moreish and delicious, as was the salami and we loved that the bun is made from the off cuts of the charcutuerie. The burrata was creamy and delicious and the arancini were flavoursome but I would have liked to see a little more sauce in the risotto balls. Overall, a top notch small plates menu.

We were spoilt for choice with 8 wonderful sounding dishes. We had:

Fettuccine Amatriciana with 6-hour slow cooked cured pork cheek tomato and pecorino (£8)

Spaghetti alla Chitarra with surf clams, courgette sauce, confit tomato (£13)

Mezzaluna, ricotta and fresh herb filled pasta with crispy courgette (£10)

The Pappardelle Oxtail Ragu looked amazing but had sold out and we can’t wait to back and try the Tortilla Carbonara with crispy cured pork cheek.

We were surprised at how much we loved the Spaghetti alla Chitarra which is named after the way it is made. The courgette sauce was so good, and the portion of clams was generous. We also loved the Mezzaluna with the crispy courgettes on top creating a nice contrast in textures.

The menu is rounded off with two classic desserts, a Sicilian Cannolo (£4) with fresh sheep’s ricotta in a crisp shell and Tiramisu (£5) served in a cup! The Tiramisu had an excellent crunchy top texture which complimented the bitter chocolate on top.

We were super impressed by the quality and affordability of this lovely Italian restaurant in Old Street. You can dine in, purchase fresh pasta from the counter or enjoy a £10 takeaway deal for a dish of pasta, house focaccia and mixed leaf salad. They have gluten free pasta and a vegan and veggie menu which showcases the versatility of...

I had a very odd and unpleasant experience earlier in the week with my friends. One friend had booked the restaurant on the phone and confirmed a booking for our party. He made it clear that he was due to come with his dog. He was assured that his dog would not be a problem. He even asked explicitly whether there were seats inside with his dog (there are a few outdoor benches where dogs might be able to sit). We arrived ahead of our friend and his dog and were graciously sat down and provided with water. Not 5 minutes passed, a bustling and clearly very agitated man came towards us and demanded to know whether we had a friend with a dog. We calmly told him we were indeed waiting. Those innocuous words of confirmation opened a torrent of shouting from him. He said that he had been shouted at my our friend outside the restaurant when told that his dog could not come in. We tried to explain that there must have been a misunderstanding on the phone, and made ready to leave. He continued to be irate at us for no reason other than venting his frustration for “being treated badly” by our friend. His shouting caused obvious consternation with other staff and customers. The irony was not lost on us that he was reacting to being supposedly shouted at, by funnelling his thoughts through nothing but shouting. We continuously tried to dispel the situation and reiterated the nature of the misunderstanding. At no point did we raise our voices nor showed frustration at him. He on the other hand followed us out of the restaurant continuing to shout and swear. He did show a degree of remorse for not being able to accommodate us and “turning away good customers” but it was also interspersed with veiled threats that if it were not a restaurant situation, he would settle the score physically with our friend who brought his dog. I have never left a negative review for any establishment before this. I only leave reviews that uplift positivity in the world, however, this is quite something else. I am sure the man was having a bad day, but his representation of the service at the restaurant severely tarnishes the food, atmosphere and level of service the rest of the staff were providing. I will never be visiting this restaurant again and will strongly recommend my friends to not support a place that allows such poor and unwarranted treatment of...