Endive with pear and gorgonzola
So, what do we need to know about Flour & Grape?
Six weeks after the closure of much-loved spot neighbourhood spot Antico, the space has reopened as Flour & Grape. It's the same team, same chef but the concept is much simpler. There are eight homemade pasta dishes which you can eat in - or take away.
I haven't been before - where exactly is it?
At the south end of Bermondsey Street just as it hits Long Lane. It's about a ten-minute walk from London Bridge station.
So where should I meet friends for a drink first?
There's a huge downstairs bar here - called 214 Bermondsey which focuses on gin and cocktails, so you'd do pretty well to meet here. If you're after something different, both The Garrison and The Woolpack further up Bermondsey Street are both good too. You're not lacking for decent drinking holes here.
Fazzoletti with spinach, marscapone and nutmeg
And the food? Presumably lots of pasta then?
Yes, but first there are some rather lovely pre-pasta snacks ranging in price from £2 to £7. The endive with pear and gorgonzola (£5) was wonderful but you mustn't come here without ordering their take on vitello tonnato which uses pork tenderoin (£7).
Of the pasta we picked a meat, vegetarian and fish options to give the menu a proper test. The Malfadine with tiger prawns in a prawn bisque was funky and good but it lost out to the two clear winners of the night - the fazzoletti with spinach, mascarpone and nutmeg (£7) and the stuffed to within an inch of its life tortelloni, packed with roasted pork shoulder and served with sage butter (£10).
Room for dessert?
Yes indeed. The pasta plates are perfectly sized to allow you just enough room to make having their homemade gelato a reasonable proposition. Passionfruit gelato packed a powerful punch (£5) and we loved the chocolate and hazelnut custardy budino flecked with sea salt (£4).
Pork tenderloin tonnato
What about wine?
Well, as the name suggests, this place takes the wine every bit as seriously as the food. Every dish comes with a suggested wine for pairing and there's a huge selection by the glass. Bottles range in price from £20 to £58 with plenty down the lower end of that scale.
Overall thoughts:
If you were a longstanding fan of Antico you'll surely find plenty to be happy with at this new look spot from the same team. I hadn't been to Antico so, for me it was a revelation. If you're after a low cost but high-quality pasta joint you can book (at least before 6.45pm) then this is where you should be going. A week after I came back singing its praises, my teenager went for dinner with friends and loved it just as much. It's great for all ages, clearly.
Hot Dinners were invited to Flour and Grape - prices are correct at the time of writing.
Chocolate and hazelnut budino
More about Flour & Grape
Where is it? 214 Bermondsey St, London SE1 3TQ
Find out more: See them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter @flourandgrape and Instagram @flourandgrape.
