Inside Notto
What can you tell us about Notto?
It's the latest opening from chef Phil Howard, best known for his more high-end restaurants like Elystan Street. He began Notto (once Otto but the name was changed due to a trademark dispute) as a pasta-by-post service during one of the lockdowns. That service continues, but this sees him bringing it to life as an affordable fresh pasta restaurant right in the centre of town. He's also brought in Louis Korovilas as Executive Chef, who's previously been at the forefront of London's fresh pasta game at both Bancone and Noci.
Where is it?
It's on Piccadilly itself, no more than a two or three minute walk from Piccadilly Circus.
What's the set-up here?
It's quite a long thin room. There are tall tables by the front but otherwise, it is a pretty standard layout, relatively large and with a bright aesthetic throughout. There's no counter dining here, though.
And what's the menu like?
Much like the Notto mail service, the focus here is on affordable pasta (as well as some snacks and starters to kick things off). Pasta dishes are generally in the £7-12 price point (with a couple of exceptions) and are pretty generous for that. So it makes it a very attractive proposition if you're in need of refuelling in the centre of town after shopping or sightseeing.
The pasta options are fairly varied here and while you will see a cacio e pepe on the menu, there's a fair amount that's unique to Notto. They suggest ordering three pasta dishes between two - but we think you could easily have one each. Here's a taster of the menu:
The most obvious thing to go for on the snacks menu - grissini (enormous bread sticks) wrapped in melted lardo and finished off with Parmesan (£5.50)
A trigger dish for us whenever we see it on the menu - Vitello Tonnato (veal and tuna sauce, £10).
Burrata with slow-roasted cavolo nero with smashed green olive and caper dressing (£9.50)
Roasted Delica pumpkin with truffled almond pesto (£9)
Onto the pasta - this is strozzapreti with black truffles, mushroom stock, parmesan and butter (£19.50)
Ravioli of pumpkin and chestnuts with pine nuts, brown butter, sage and Parmesan (£14)
Tagliatelle with chicken stock, tarragon, butter and parmesan (£10.50). In some ways the simplest pasta dish that we tried but also the best - it all just works incredibly well.
And there are just two options for dessert. There's the soft serve ice cream (£5.50 and also available as affogato) - vanilla and pine nut on our visit - or the milk chocolate and hazelnut cream (£7). That chocolate cream may look simple but it was absolutely amazing - not to be missed.
What's it like for vegetarians?
As you can see from above, most of what we went for was vegetarian (if you leave out the Parmesan) and there's more besides - like the chestnut soup with ricotta - so it's very easy to have a great vegetarian meal here.
And drinks?
Cocktails are around the £10 mark with twist on classics like a pear sour, or a caramel espresso martini on offer.
Wine prices are about standard for this part of London, with the house wine starting at £29 for white and £32 for red. It is possible to climb the relatively short wine list to a 2018 Chateau Larose at £77. More or less everything is available by the glass or carafe.
We went for the grapefruit negroni (£9)
Overall thoughts
The fresh pasta scene in London has never been better, so Notto had a lot to prove when it opened, even with a top-name chef like Phil Howard behind it. Thankfully, it's proven to be another great addition to London's pasta scene - offering great quality at pretty decent prices. We think this one will do very well.
More about Notto
Where is it? 198-200 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9EZ
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @nottopastabar.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Notto. Prices are correct at the time of writing
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