Review: Officina 00, Fitzrovia

We’re on a bit of an Italian vibe at the moment, no idea why. The latest is Officina OO, a pasta restaurant stuck out a little bit on its own, north past all the bustling eateries around Charlotte Street. Worth the extra few yards, though.

Nice comfy leather chairs and plenty of space, with an open kitchen and counter as well. Friendly service. The menu covers snacks, starters and pasta – deliberately no secondi here, and the menu is fairly keenly priced as well. So are the cocktails and wines. I enjoy a limoncello martini, Maureen a very good negroni spritz.

We start with a couple of bites. Cacio e pepe raviolo are deep-fried puffs of pasta with peppery cheese goop inside, tasty enough although I’ve had many more moreish snacks. Like the aubergine and nduja croquettes that come next, crunchy outside and deliciously peppy inside with a good grating of pecorino on top and a little honey that balances nicely.

My pasta is caserecce, chunky mid-length tubes I’ve not tried before. The sauce was intriguing: pistachio pesto with yuzukoshu, a Japanese paste of chilli and yuzu citrus. The resulting flavour was good although something of a muddle, with no particular flavour standing out and a whole plateful becoming a little much. Maureen’s 100 layer vegetarian lasagna was superb. The pasta sheets made an appealing block, consistently cooked to a pleasant softness and sitting in a heap of deliriously dark and umami ragu made from San Marzano tomatoes. This sauce made a very convincing replacement for beef, powerful and yet balancing bitter and sweet notes very neatly. The light parmesan cream poured on top was a good foil and the whole dish was great.

This was just a light lunch stop, so that was enough for us. Based on this outing I’m very happy to include Officina OO on my list of useful places to know in the middle of town. Three courses would probably be £35 each without drinks.