Pasta Remoli: A New Concept In Modern Italian Dining

London dining is all about convenience and flexibility. We need fast food and takeaway joints and we need relaxed dining venues for when the mood takes us. When we’re in a rush we need to know the food we’re served will be fast but full of flavour. Pasta Remoli aims to offer just this.

With three branches open and a fourth imminent, the Remoli empire is building fast. Following the success of the Stratford and Finsbury Park venues, Remoli recently appeared in Dickens Yard, W5, a mere five minute walk from Ealing Broadway station.

Set away from the Broadway itself in a nest of cocktail bars and soon-to-open unit spaces, Pasta Remoli is easy to spot as it shows the only signs of life as we trudge through the yard in the February rain.

Once inside the warm lighting and striking wall art instantly impress. Communal benches or individual tables are available, and there’s a feel of a bustling Rome café about the place.

Inspired by his mother’s cooking, Simone Remoli was eager to learn every technique and recipe he could. For four years he trained in the kitchens of the most endorsed restaurants in Rome where he learned the ancient art of traditional Roman cuisine. In 2007 he moved to London to further extend his knowledge. Having gained experience during his tenure at the Roka and Robata, Barrafina, Locanda Locatelli and Bocca di Lupo, Simone decided to set up on his own. Unimpressed with the quality of pasta served in even some of central London’s top restaurants, he vowed to open a restaurant which had a unique concept of serving traditional homemade pasta dishes in a quick, reasonable and authentic way. Enter Pasta Rimoli.

The main menu is classic Italian. Starters include an Arancini of the Day, exquisitely creamy burratta with deliciously salty parma ham, a deep fried take on caprese salad, and other typical antipasti offerings.

There’s a mix and match method for mains whereby you choose your preferred pasta – gluten free, egg free and vegan options are available – and then you pick your sauce, with at least six each of white and tomato based. Recommendations can be found beneath the options, and your server may suggest a particular pairing, but you’re free to blend tastes to your heart’s (or stomach’s) content.

Food is served quickly and with a smile, and the open kitchen at the back, with its shouts and clangs, just adds to the welcoming ambiance.

There’s a decent range of mid-level wines as well as a few cocktails – and the option to go bottomless on Prosecco or Aperol on Saturdays for brunch.

You can be in and out of Pasta Remoli within an hour, which is great for a lunch break or shopping pitstop. It’s not somewhere to sit back and relax, the pace and service is far too fast, but food is good and is served with a smile. Our only criticism would be that the stuffed pasta portions are slightly on the meagre side for a main meal.

All three branches of Pasta Remoli offer a slightly different concept, and a central London one opening soon promises to further develop the brand. Watch this space, we will be back.

• Pasta Rimoli, Unit 6, Dickens Yard, London, W5 2TD. Nearest Tube: Ealing Broadway.