Taking its name from the Esperanto for sparrow, the restaurant will have space for 30 covers in the main dining room area with a further seven seats at the counter and will open on West Green Road in south Tottenham on 27 October.
It will operate as a cafe and deli shop by day, serving coffee and pastries from 8am, alongside deli goods such as fresh bread from Walthamstow’s Today Bread, charcuterie and house-made pickle jars; with salads and sandwiches served at lunch time. Wednesday through Saturday it will open for dinner.
Sparrow has 20 years front of house and restaurant marketing experience, including several years with Côte Brasserie, plus time at ETM Group and a year spent working at The Quality Chop House.
The food offer will be overseen head chef MacDonald, who’s CV includes time spent in the kitchens at J. Sheekey and Scott’s, under Angela Hartnett at Cafe Murano and Merchants Tavern, as well as head chef at Peckham’s restaurant Levan. The food menu will be broadly European, changing regularly depending on available ingredients and seasonality.
Dishes on the launch menu will include such as cauliflower and tahini croquette with Hungarian black chili; sprout tops, nameko and king oyster mushroom with ajo blanco; and ossobuco of monkfish and haricot beans with green sauce. Options such as blackberry sorbet, fig leaf oil, almond brittle and chocolate mint; and peanut butter and chocolate coupe will feature on the desserts menu.
It will offer a short wine list focusing on low-intervention European winemakers, working with a range of small suppliers including Modal, Graft and wines on tap by Uncharted.
The opening follows a crowdfund launched by Genevieve and her husband Tim to raise money for a bricks and mortar restaurant.
“I’m so pleased to be opening a restaurant in Tottenham. I have lived locally for eight years, and the area has a great sense of community and a very independent spirit,” says Sparrow.
“I’m also thrilled to have Pip onboard as head chef. She has years of amazing kitchen experience and really understands my vision for the restaurant.
“I’m looking forward to Pasero becoming part of the vibrant fabric of West Green Road. I'm hoping that we can make it a real neighbourhood gem, and a reason to visit Tottenham even if you don’t live close by.”