A bustling weekday near Old Street, and a typical early summer in the city (raining) – but for us, ensconced inside this local eatery, we are being transported to Italy through food of such flavour and authenticity washed down, appropriately, with a fine Italian red – Chianti Superiore to be precise.
So what did we eat that had such transformative powers? Sampling the new menu, we opted to mix up a few snacks and starters: the absolutely must-try, deep-fried Panko Lasagna with truffle, aged provolone served with aioli – lasagne like you’ve never had it before! Don’t skip the small but satisfying melt-in-your-mouth Fried Raviolo with Cacio and Pepe (cheese and pepper), and to make sure we had some of our five a day, an excellent Baby Gem Salad with radish, roasted almonds with a miso dressing. It was way too greedy, but the creamy Buffalo Burrato was well worth ordering, served on top of a tomato tartare with anchovy mayo and peashoots.
Officina 00’s pasta is freshly made in-house each day, so next we devoured the Caserecce accompanied by pistachio pesto, Yuzukoshu (Japanese seasoning made from fresh chiles), confit garlic and mint – such beautiful textures. The plump Occhi, filled with rich lamb shank Genovese, lightly covered with parsley pesto and aged provolone was also superb.
We really didn’t have room for dessert but owner Enzo tempted us with some off-the-menu chocolate cannoli, which made a perfect end to the meal, along with an excellent Italian coffee, of course.
We love this place, it’s unstuffy with seriously good food, and it caters to all appetites at any time of day, from an impromptu afternoon snack and a glass of wine to a fun group feast.
Officina 00
156 Old Street, London EC1V 9BW
officina00.co.uk