Tom's Pasta — Restaurant in London

My partner and I came here for a birthday dinner, despite noting this on the booking it was sadly quite a negative experience. We were the first wave of bookings on a Friday, they were meant to open at 5:30pm but were running late, leaving their punters outside as it was raining. The staff inside were sorting out delivery boxes which were strewn across already laid our guest tables as they were being broken down. I don’t want to think as to whether or not the tables were cleaned down afterwards. We sat down very excited having heard about the restaurant for the past year or so and it’s “best lasagne”. The service was certainly quick but by no means friendly. Our food was served within around 15 minutes but was luke warm. I had ordered the lasagne which to be honest was very disappointing. Having had a fair few beef ragu dishes in the past I was ready for a rich pulled sauce that complimented a creamy bechamel. Couldn’t have been further from it. The ratio of pasta to meat was all wrong (far too little of the lasagne sheets - perhaps 2 layers!) The meat itself was actually quite dry and most surprisingly wasn’t shredded in the lasagne in large hunks, about half the length of the actual dish. Luckily the plate was large enough to deconstruct and pull apart the meat to make it edible. There was so sign of a bechamel or reduction in the ragu just these chunks of semi dry Luke warm meat, with the bucket of Parmesan covering what was actually just dissapointing. Luckily my partner had ordered a leek & sausage dish which was much nicer and was happy to share. Having not been sat at our table for even 50 minutes, nor having asked for a bill (still drinking our wine and finishing dessert) our server daisy bought us a bill and said she was just going to leave it here. Please keep in mind the restaurant was not even full at this point so rushing paying guests out is really quite poor. She returned 2 minutes later asking us to settle our bill, once again unprompted by us and before we had finished our wine. Given this was the most she spoke to us bar asking if we were ready to order food, it was an awful impression. Especially given a discretionary service is automatically applied to the bill.

I am not usually one to write reviews at all, and definitely not ones this long, but it was really a bad experience. Perhaps an off night for the restaurant? We travelled 1.5hours each way to go and certainly won’t be going back or recommend anyone to...

It was 2023. I found myself walking, one of those journeys that starts without a destination. The conversations from passers by were my entertainment, distracting me from tedious thoughts, the ones that most likely started the aimless venture. That was until I heard the hustle and bustle of chatter and the distinct sound cutlery makes on plates. It was enough for my stomach to make a decision my brain was too weak to deter. I couldn’t make sense of the place at first, it seemed unfinished, like they didn’t know what it was. Yet, I felt at home, comfortable. I had barely finished my thought when a soft voice spoke into my ear asking if I was dining tonight. Even though I understood I looked toward the voice and asked them to repeat the question, the smell had already forced my decision. The soft voice repeated itself but this time with a smile. I nodded politely and followed her as she weaved me to a single table. It was busy, but the soft light and chatter made it hard to feel observed. Tom’s Pasta, written across a small sheet of yellow paper that sat on my table. This was the first time I’d been introduced to my destination, and to the person responsible for its existence. The soft voice interrupted my thought again, but I welcomed the sound as her words grew to create a sentence I was longing to hear. ‘Are you ready to order’. I wasn’t, but nodded anyway, she looked at me and filled the silence with that smile. ‘I recommend the lasagna’. I looked down at the menu, and back at her and asked if that’s what’s responsible for the aroma. There was that smile again. She nodded and before I could agree with her suggestion she had walked away. Moments passed as I sat there listening to the stories of my neighbours, when my recommendation arrived. A plate displaying a generous slice of what my nose had already been introduced to. As it sat there undisturbed the sounds around me seemed to fade, I reached out and took the fork in my hand feeling the cold metal against my skin. Almost as an act of desecration I respectfully sliced through the corner. You never forget the moments in your life that redefine your standards, so I knew when I took that first mouthful there was no going back. I had transcended. ‘How is it?’, pulled me out of what felt like a dream. I looked up to see that smile, only now I understood...

A visitor of the Avengers to Tom's Pasta, in theory pasta made by Tom, but we didn't meet Tom, which enfuriated your Avenger! We travelled more than one hour for what it seemed to be one of the best Italians in London (and it was, spoiler alert) with the suggestion of ... me of course!

We got there after fighting with rain, unbelievably your God didn't get wet, he's also Zeus somehow, he's all Gods altogether, and we see the place full of people, and we don't have a reservation, since Yours Truly doesn't need reservation for anything, with no table, the amazing and most beautiful staff gets us a table, though we had to wait 75 minutes, which is nothing, so we went to a pub while waiting

Once we get there, the manager got us a table outside, the most beautiful manager (I believe she was the manager) I've seen in my life, I was stunned, which made the experience even better.

Then we sat, we had a very good service, but your Avenger didn't let me order everything I wanted, he had some conscious, and wanted to allow everyone in the restaurant to have some food. So each of us ordered one dish, of course I had the best choice, after all they are known by paste, but the Lasagna is the best seller, and the best I've ever had!! And then the tiramisú, ufffff irá food org... Once again your Avenger was closer to climax, after the divorce things get complicated for him you know, we need to support and food helps him a lot, thanks to Tom 😬

Well, your Avenger was waiting for a visit from Tom, but he didn't want him to leave costumers waiting. At the end, before leaving unfortunately I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to a hypothetical Christmas love story with the manager, a super professional and attentive person, which we even left the umbrella behind, to see if it becomes a How I met your mother sequel, who knows. Well... Your Avenger knows, since he already wrote the story of everyone in the world, but he keeps the mystery.

5 start place, of a great place, food and a must eating...