What: A 74-cover pasta restaurant on London’s Piccadilly that has transformed a tired Costa Coffee into a bright and smart all-day venue. The concept was initially established in spring 2021 as a London-based pasta delivery service but has now opened its first bricks and mortar restaurant, with more like to follow in the future.
Who: NOTTO is the brainchild of Michelin-starred chef Phil Howard, co-owner of Elystan Street in Chelsea, who has opened the restaurant with business partner Julian Dyer, founder of desserts business Pots & Co. The kitchen is headed up by executive chef Louis Korovilas, who has worked at Locanda Locatelli, Pied à Terre, and Bancone, with Nicholas Georgoulakis and Harvi Singh, both formerly of Elystan Street, as general manager and operations manager respectively.
The food: Howard has created a tight – but not too tight – collection of eight pasta dishes for NOTTO, which include gnocchetti with smashed sausage, white wine, fennel and chilli; pappardelle with slow cooked shin of beef, oxtail and red wine; bucatini with a ragout of autumn vegetables, mushrooms and chestnuts; and strozzapreti with black truffles, mushroom stock, parmesan and butter that follow starters such as chestnut soup with ricotta; and vitello tonnato and snacks such as rosemary, rock salt, tomato and garlic focaccia. Prices are very much in the casual dining sphere, with snacks from £3, starters from £7 and pastas starting at £8 and topping out at £18 (the strozzapreti). The concise nature of the menu is taken up a gear or two with desserts, with only one option, a milk chocolate and hazelnut cream, although there is also a small choice of ice creams.
To drink: As with the food offer, the wine selection is concise but perfectly suited to the offer. Wines for Italy, France and Portugal dominate the white selection while New Zealand, south Africa, south Australia and Argentina are represented in the reds. Bottles start at £29 and none break £80 apart from one bottle of champagne.
The vibe: The former Costa Coffee site is not an easy footprint and is long and narrow by design. However, this has been used as a strength with the former coffee prep area and counter being turned into an open kitchen past which customers have to walk to get to the rear of the restaurant or opposite which they can sit, creating a buzzy, bustling space. Interiors are simple and clean, with stone-coloured walls, rattan light shades, and green mosaic tiles contributing to the predominantly neutral colour palette and a mix of tables and chairs and high tables and stools that reinforce the casual, everyday nature of the restaurant.
And another thing: The restaurant was originally going to be called OTTO but Howard changed the name after a legal challenge was made.
198 Piccadilly, St. James's, London, W1J 9EZ
https://www.nottopastabar.com/