Paesan translated is a friendly greeting for your friend, buddy, homeboy…read more Keeping that traditon, Paesan near to Exmouth Market, is a fun, easy pasta spot with exposed brick and filamented lightbulbs, run by a friendly crew of Italians who will make you feel right at home. The upstairs is a corner view onto a street with dark woods and leather booths, while inside an open kitchen and a low-key young crew is putting out some simple, tasty food. Mostly appetizers, pastas and some pesce and carne dishes. Not a destination, but a good spot and one of the few restaurants on the street open on a Sunday. The downstairs basement hosts a cocktail bar that was closed on the Sunday we visited. We enjoyed the feel of the place, along with a bit of montepulciano d'abruzzo, some olives, a green salad, pork belly and a toothsome risotto with zucchini and prawns. Not a bad meal, priced pretty well, and a nice setting with friendly staff. We had such a good time that we failed to notice the police inspectress inside talking to the Paesan crew. The white and red police tape line both inside and outside the restaurant were in our peripheral view the whole dinner, but once outside, we noticed that a gigantic police triangle of tape took up the entire street corner, a female inspector was stationed there, and that down on the cobblestone sidewalk, a streetful of dessicated lemon and lime wedges lay from the night before, leading us to ponder, what exactly had happened here?

This is my new favourite restaurant!…read more The restaurant used to be the Dollar burger restaurant, and has been revamped as an Italian artisan place with free bread and olive oil, big bottle of tap water and Arcoroc glasses for everything. The specials all sounded fantastic but I plumped for dandelion salad and the pumpkin and goats cheese pizza. Utterly yummy! Not excessive portions just packed with flavour. The waitress was helpful and calm and the red wine warm and fruity. I'll come again for definites. There is a cocktail bar in the basement and a choice of some interesting sharing options on the main menu for groups. Prices are very reasonable and if my meal was anything to go by, the rest will be as good. I am well impressed.

Oh my gosh -- this was genuinely the worst restaurant experience I've ever had in the UK…read more We politely mentioned that we didn't enjoy one of the pasta dishes and simply requested a small modification. Instead of trying to resolve the issue professionally, the owner became extremely rude and dismissive. Shockingly, he brought us the bill immediately, refused to serve the rest of the items we had already ordered (including the tiramisu), and directly asked us to leave the restaurant. We were calm and respectful throughout the interaction, but he refused to even listen to our side before abruptly ending the conversation with, "I'll get your bill," and telling us to leave. I honestly don't know whether he was irritated because we had an infant with us or because we requested a modification, but the behaviour was completely unacceptable and deeply disappointing. I still can't believe a restaurant in London could treat customers this way. Truly unbelievable service and an experience I would never want anyone else to go through. We initially ordered 3 items. The pizza was absolutely fine, so we never raised any concern about it. However, the pasta simply didn't suit our taste buds, so we politely requested a few alterations. Instead of handling it professionally, you refused to serve the tiramisu as well -- assuming we'd dislike that too and ask for modifications? Honestly, I wish I had taken a picture of the pasta to show how it looked. As a restaurant owner, you should understand that every customer has different taste preferences. And just for clarification -- we never asked for the pasta to be cancelled. In fact, we were even willing to pack it and take it home after paying for it, despite not liking the taste. You were the one who offered to cancel the remaining order, and we simply agreed. I would humbly request whoever is in charge to please check the CCTV footage and see whether we were ever rude while requesting alterations. Throughout the interaction, you only kept speaking from your side and didn't even give my wife a chance to explain. Is that really what good customer service looks like?

I like this place. It keeps things real. There's no pretension. The staff are lovely. The food…read moreis fresh and tasty. I ordered a lasagna and it was just what you want a lasagna to be. Cheesy and rich and flavorful and authentic. The prices are reasonable. The clientele are cool and laid back. Yeah this place deserves 5 stars. In a world full of phonies this place is refreshing. And the pizzas that went by my table looked and smelled so so good. I must return. I think this place is a winner !!! Congrats to the people who run it and the chef and kitchen staff.

One day I am going to ring up and book a table under the pseudonym Tony Soprano!…read more I swear to god this place is stuffed full of maffiosi and you have to be one to get in. All attempts to book a table thus far have met with a "sorry we are fully booked" and trademark Italian silence. All that despite the fact this place looks closed 100% of the time. Oh well ... who knows. A slice of Sicilia in Clerkenwell :) Gotta love old school mafia.

If you can get a table here then you know you are a successful business man because this place is…read morethe best in town for Italian food just like mama made

Food was delicious and service was wonderful. Quiet atmosphere. I had the lentil soup and the…read morepasta with clams off the fixed priced menu

The food was AMAZING. The environment was AMAZING. 10/10 will be revisiting!! We have friends…read morecoming in town later this week and will be going back with them!

Excellent food. Excellent friendly service…read more My wife and I had 4 appetizers and were very pleased. Portions were big. 2.5 appetizers would have sufficed as a meal.

This little Italian place in Covent Garden treats you like family. We found based on popular Yelp…read morereviews and made reservations. The cafe is tiny, with maybe a dozen tables inside and another dozen on an enclosed patio. The place is dripping with Old World charm right down to the deli counter. We sat inside in a cozy corner table. Tables are so close that you get to know your neighboring guests. In our case, the neighbors were regulars and gave us some menu tips. We laughed and visited. The servers are all friendly. We had several people serve us. Water came quickly as did our wine and beer. For dinner, I had the Oak Smoked Salmon Salad. The salmon was delicious and plentiful. The capers were salty and exquisite. I loved the gently pickled onions. I was given olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dress the salad as I wanted. My husband had the Gnocchi "nduja" which was spicy and delicious. We also enjoyed the Garlic Bread which was a stone fire cooked flatbread. I'd return and highly recommend.

Overpriced for the portion size. Wonderful flavors (ravioli)…read moreWas kind of loud. Great atmosphere

Traveling from the USA for 2 days for work…read more Recommended to this place by our consigliere at the Westin. Was so good we ate here 2 nights in a row. Paula our server was incredible, attentive, and very personable! Highly recommended establishment!

Burrata ; Sourdough with olive oil was fresh, creamy, and delicious…read more * The pesto linguini and lemon ravioli were outstanding--the lemon ravioli was so good we reordered it! The soft cheese with citrus zest melted in our mouths. * Kids loved the fresh tomato sauce spaghetti. * Tiramisu was delicious, kids loved the lemon sorbet and Lemoni drink was refreshing, and the macchiato excellent. A beautiful Italian spot with some good vegetarian options. Highly recommend if you're in the borough!

I went to padella for dinner with a friend on a Thursday evening and luckily got a table for 2…read morepretty quickly! The restaurant is super cute and wasn't too noisy, making it a great place to catch up with a friend. We ordered three dishes: the beef carpaccio, cacio & pepe, and the tagliarini with Dorset crab. The cacio & pepe was my favorite by far. The portion felt right and the flavour was amazing. Sometimes it's the simplest dishes that are the best! The tagliarini was amazing as well, the flavours were really balanced. I liked the beef carpaccio but it only comes with 5 slices of beef and considering that it was a £14 dish, we didn't really think it was worth it. It was yummy though! Would definitely come back for the cacio & pepe alone.

Great Italian food, lovely decor and brilliant service. Highly recommended. A good selection of…read morewine.

Totally stumbled on this place by accident and what a delightful accident it was! It's a swanky,…read morechilled out restaurant wth a separate bar area for drinks. The drink area has booths, for intimate occasions and normal tables for sitting with friends; and seats also all around the bar, so you sit back for a breathtaking class in how to make beautiful tasting cocktails. We went during happy hour, 5-7pm and the entire cocktails menu is half price, with prosecco cocktails, martinis and a wide range of vodka options... Not gonna lie, could have ordered half the menu.. Everything looked stupendous!! I settled for a prosecco choice to start, which was limoncello, chambord, prosecco and passionfruit, in a flute! Oh my word!!! Yessss so good I want it again! The other cocktails we ordered, a sweet tequila one, which in my friend words was mmm spot on.. Can't comment on the food, but if the comfy owls are anything to go by, I'd say make that reservation now!

We arrived at our hotel later than expected and missed dinner. Fortunately, Trattoria Verdi stays…read moreopen late, unlike the other restaurants that were closing. Their service was exceptional, and our food arrived quickly and tasted delicious. The live pianist added to the ambiance, making it a memorable dining experience. We'll definitely return for dinner before our vacation ends!

Our hotel was in the same block as this restaurant and we sort of stumbled across it while looking…read morefor dinner. We were reading the menu posted outside the door when we were greeted by one of the employees (I think he was "family") and then we were also greeted by an older gentleman who appeared to be the owner. We decided to give it a try. The lady waiting on us was very nice (also appeared to be family) and service was excellent. BTW - they have live music with a piano player. My wife had the spaghetti with bolanagese sauce and it was truly exceptional. I had the lasagna (my "go to" Italian dish) and it was also delicious. Great little restaurant. Cozy interior, live music, great food and great friendly service.