La Pastaia

Someone from this business manages this listing.

271 reviews

#5,756 of 15,414 Restaurants in London$$ - $$$, Italian, Mediterranean, European

+44 20 7734 0236+ Add website

Hours

Wed

5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Thu

5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Fri

5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Sat

12:00 pm - 10:00 pm

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Ratings and reviews

3.5

271 reviews

#5,756 of 15,414 Restaurants in London

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Details

Someone from this business manages this listing.

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CUISINES

Italian, Mediterranean, European

Special Diets

Vegetarian Friendly

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

features

Location and contact

63 Old Compton Street, London W1D 6HT England

Soho

+44 20 7734 0236

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Does this restaurant offer highchairs for toddlers?

Yes

Unsure

Details

Manage this business?

CUISINES

Italian, Mediterranean, European

Special Diets

Vegetarian Friendly

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch

FEATURES

Takeout, Reservations, Seating, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service

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3.5

271 reviews

Excellent

132

Very good

Average

Poor

Terrible

aaronking1988

62 contributions

Worth a visit

July 2023 • solo

Arrived and asked for table for 1 and was taken to a table straight away. Waited a good few mins for my order to be taken. (More the an adverage wait) Ordered a margarita pizza and fruit juice. Pizza was good. I fancied a dessert but they don't have a desert menu the waiter told me what they had. I took the special which was also on the board. Only slight thing was no prices mentioned for desserts understand no menu as they may change often. The tiramisu was really good. You could tase it was home made.

Written 17 July 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Geemay93

Leamington Spa2 contributions

Affordable gem

July 2022 • none

Stumbled across this restaurant on a busy Saturday in Soho and noticed they had a spare table for two. Menu simple and classic - we had Aperol Spritzes and a delicious Penne Arrabbiata which was the best I've had in ages. Service also very friendly.

Written 4 July 2022

Bryan H

2 contributions

Great but slow

July 2023 • couples

Really great meal here last night - a star lost simply because of slow service with drinks on a very hot evening. Spaghetti alla carbonara and pepperoni pizza both great; beef carpaccio and calamari also good. We’ll be back, but more staff required (I know easier said than done).

Written 9 July 2023

Damian E

Leeds34 contributions

Absolute Treasure

Jan 2020 • none

2 of us at there last night, Sat Jan 11th. Food was out of this world. Very friendly waiter, the bruschetta was fresh, mouth-watering and divine, and my partner said the tomato soup was the best she's ever tasted. Main courses of salmon pasta and mine was wild mushroom in a cream sauce, utterly fabulous. I've never eaten a better pasta meal in my entire life - literally scraped the plates clean. Can't recommend this place highly enough. Eat here - you won't be disappointed.

Written 12 January 2020

ymisyd

Woking19 contributions

Cold restaurant, mediocre food....

Jan 2020 • couples

Thought we'd give this little Italian restaurant a try, won't be going back. Firstly, I know it was winter, but the place was freezing - not a good start. Secondly, I was seated in what effectively was the corridor. Every time the waiter traversed the restaurant, or every time a customer came or left, they would brush past me. We both had spaghetti Napoli, which my wife found so bad she couldn't eat. The waiter insisted it was made with fresh tomatoes but, having eaten in Italian restaurants all my life (and being half Italian myself), I can assure you it wasn't. As if that wasn't bad enough, the waiter had already snatched the uneaten bread and pasta from our table before even asking if we'd finished! One last thing, avoid the nero d'avola at all costs. One of the worst wines I've had.

Written 29 January 2020

Joe Mama

1 contribution

Disaster

Dec 2022 • friends

We arrived at 4:30 and left more than two hours later, leaving with only the tale that we had survived this experience. We were seated during a time the restaurant was next to empty. A rude waiter who seemed annoyed by our presence took our order harshly after about 30 minutes have passed of us sat alone. The restaurant has begun to fill every table. This is the very last time we saw our waiter. Time continued to pass, and an hour 15 in we received our wine and nothing else, all while other tables that had been seated recently had gotten food. A new waiter on the floor apologized to us, as it was his very first shift and had not been trained and was left abandoned to his own dismay. This was the last we saw of him too. I sincerely hope he walked out the door and found a better job. Another hour passed, and a disheveled and distressed woman began to retake the orders of the entire floor. Only a few items off the menu were allowed to be ordered and we obliged, and shortly the same woman frantically was running the food as well, dropping plates and calling out orders to the room. Despite this cacophonous backdrop to our now two hour dining experience, we did receive our food that was on par with a meal made by a child being left home alone for the first time. The pasta was crunchy and likely microwaved, and served in a water/broth-esque excuse for sauce. Any italian would drop dead at this acclaimed “hand made” true italian “cuisine.” As we left, we were berated at the door as to if we had paid (we had, begrudgingly, including a mandatory 13 percent gratuity, although the hardworking woman deserved it for the hell she must have gone through this night). I cannot get these 2.5 hours of my life back, or get rid of the sickness that resides in my stomach hours now later from the store bought ravioli, but you can save yourself from visiting this restaurant. Find anywhere else. Seriously, mcdonald’s would be a better use of your time and money.

Written 3 December 2022

Don

London2 contributions

Racist Experience at La Pastaia

Dec 2022 • friends

Waited an hour for appetisers to appear then received a snarky racist comment from the waiter when we complained after paying the bill. We dined here on the evening of 29 Dec 2022. My party was seated at around 7pm and I joined them at around 7:45. When I arrived, my party of 5 were seated on the second floor, next to a party of 4 and two sets of tables for 8 were empty behind us. One of the empty sets of tables wasn't cleared, half eaten plates of pasta and leftover pizza crusts sat unmoved. My friend helped me order a Parmigiana and Spaghetti alla Carbonara at 7:20 as I was arriving late, but they had made their orders soon after they sat down. My party received some tap water and a Coke sometime before 8, but our appetisers finally arrived at around 8pm. Bizarrely, the waiter placed our small plates on another table close by and asked me to retrieve and distribute them as he placed the sharing dishes in the middle of our table. We then waited until 8:40 before he appeared with our mains and my Parmigiana. In another strange series of events, the waiter brought out food from the dummy lift, handed our respective mains to us, but then swiftly brought the Parmigiana downstairs without asking. I was very confused, but thought maybe something was wrong with it. But he didn't return after a few minutes so I headed downstairs and found him standing at the POS system with the Parmigiana in hand. I asked: "Isn't that Parmigiana my order?" To which he responded: "This is your Parmigiana, right?" With a tone that made me sound like I was the one who made a mistake. Perplexed, I just said yes and he handed the plate to me which I brought back upstairs to finally have my meal. The meal was lukewarm and unremarkable. Also I ordered Spaghetti alla Carbonara but received Penne. Both dishes were a bit too salty, especially the Parmigiana's tomato sauce. But the pasta had good texture. We finished our meal and paid. After we paid, one of us decided to complain to the waiter about the ridiculous waiting time and the quality of the food, saying: "We had to wait an hour and thirty minutes for this?" The waiter responded: "This is not Chinese food. Everything needs to be freshly prepared, the garlic, the onions, the sauce, the pasta." To clarify, our party had 3 East Asians including me and the friend who made the comment. We were stunned by his casual racism and left shortly after. At first, I had a fair deal of sympathy for the waiter as he was clearly fighting an uphill battle as a one man show. But his attitude throughout the night, his careless service and strange demeanour were inexcusable. His racist comment was the rotten cherry on top of this proverbial cake. I will not be coming back to this restaurant and I hope that people looking for reviews will take note and avoid this bigoted establishment.

Written 24 January 2023

sandrak232017

London18 contributions

Really good food

Dec 2019 • friends

This is a tiny restaurant but don't be fooled by its size as the menu is extensive. The pasta is made on the premises and is very good. I highly recommend the wild boar ragu if you are lucky for it to be on the daily special. It is delicious and the portions are generous so no chance of leaving hungry. The waiting staff are very attentive and really add to the lovely dining experience. And the food is at reasonable prices especially for the heart of Soho.

Written 4 January 2020

TX H

1 contribution

Experienced racism from the waiter. Absolutely disgusting.

Dec 2022 • none

I dined at La Pastaia on 29th December at around 7:05pm - 9pm. To put it bluntly, I am bewildered by the poor customer service at La Pastaia, which ended in a racist comment by the waiter. Firstly, when we arrived at La Pastaia and asked for a table for 5, we were told to wait five minutes, only to be let in almost twenty minutes later. We were seated at around 7:05pm on the top floor of the restaurant. In over ten minutes, our waiter did not come to take our order. I went downstairs to call our waiter up, and he said he would be with us in a moment. I went back upstairs and waited another ten minutes before he came upstairs to take our order. Shortly after, we wanted to make an additional order. Since our waiter did not come upstairs again, I went downstairs to order but he told me to go back upstairs and he will come up. After over ten minutes, I grew frustrated and decided to go down again and tell him my order, which he reluctantly noted down. From the moment we ordered our food at around 7:05pm, we sat there waiting until 8:00pm when our appetisers finally arrived and we did not receive our mains until 8:40pm, around an hour and a half since making our order. Despite the poor service and long wait times, the real issue was the racism we were subjected to. The waiter had known that some members of our party were of Asian descent, yet he still made an extremely offensive and disrespectful comment when we expressed our frustration with the service and the wait time while paying the bill. He stated that "This is not Chinese food. We need to make the sauce, pasta from scratch and everything needs to be fresh." This kind of discrimination and disrespect is completely unacceptable and I will not be returning to La Pastaia. I strongly urge others to boycott this restaurant and demand that management take a stand against this kind of racist behavior. The waiter's comment was not only offensive, but it showed a complete lack of respect and understanding of the diversity of the customers who frequent the restaurant. It is imperative that management takes swift and decisive action to ensure that such an incident does not occur again in the future.

Written 30 December 2022

Lauren L

1 contribution

Worst customer service in the world!

Oct 2023 • friends

I brought a group of young actors from a West End show to the restaurant for a birthday meal and received the worst customer service of my entire life. When we asked to swap a meal, due to its unsuitability, soggy nature and poor taste; we were told no. Rather than offering to exchange the meal like any other restaurant would, the waitress argued with us in front of the entire restaurant. She suggested we had no idea what fresh pasta really tastes like and commented that she had eaten the same meal for her lunch and it was fine. She then argued with us when I said that I wouldn't pay for the meal. I have never experienced anything like this in my life and would suggest everyone steer clear of this terrible place!

Written 25 October 2023

Lula

Wembley1 contribution

do not go there

Sept 2023 • friends

I went In this restaurant with my friends, and as an Coeliac person, I asked for a gluten free plate, we received the plates so everyones started eating, 5 minutes later, the waitress arrived and took the plate out of my hand, and left, the waiter came and said “we did a mistake, there was gluten in the plate, but you should be fine” they did not apologize once. We asked for the bill and I was surprised to see that they made me pay the plate, which I think would have been the minimum not to make me pay, but then I saw that they made me pay 2£ of supplement for the gluten free which is unacceptable ! it led to 2 days of me vomiting, so I really don’t recommend, especially if gluten can make you go to the hospital!

Written 18 September 2023

Julie H

1 contribution

Awful, terribly awful

Dec 2022 • couples

My boyfriend and i was told the wait was 10 minutes. After waiting 25 minutes and after several parties left the place, still no table. The server was cocky and rude. He waved us in several times only to rudely say that the tables still wasn’t ready. There were free tables waiting to be cleaned but they couldn’t care less. After waiting 35 minutes we left the queue, as we didn’t want to give them our business (and they add a 12,5% mandatory server tip) Don’t waste your time.

Written 3 December 2022

Whitworld

St Helens20 contributions

So disappointing

Aug 2020 • couples

This was the last restaurant that we visited before lockdown. Called to reserve a table for two outside in advance and booked in. Arrived at restaurant, three vacant tables For two outside. We’re told we had to have one next to an open urinal in the street, I explained that we would rather have one of the other tables, only to be told they had been reserved. When I explained that we had made one of these reservations, I was told that that was our table and basically to take it or leave it. Needless to say I left it! There are plenty of Italian restaurants in the area and we found a lovely table down the road with great food and great atmosphere. We won’t go back, and don’t recommend this place to anyone. Staff member was very abrupt, verging on rude.

Written 2 August 2020

NHam88

18 contributions

Lovely little hidden gem in Soho

Dec 2020 • couples

My girlfriend and I were looking for a place to have a quiet meal in Soho...not an easy task, first weekend back post lockdown 2. However when we looked in the window, this cosy little Italian promised much - and it didn't disappoint. The food was fantastic, the service was friendly and attentive, and the wine was perfectly matched with the handmade pasta. Family run business so you know you're doing your bit to help, rather than going to a chain. Recommend!

Written 6 December 2020

Herbie2107

Witham37 contributions

Italian Restaurant

Aug 2023 • friends

Went to this restaurant after being let down by a national chain, what a result table for four found very quickly, drinks supplied quickly. We chose main meals from the specials board and they were delicious, the pasta was obviously homemade. The prices charged and the service was good for this part of London.

Written 19 August 2023

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LA PASTAIA, London - Soho - Updated 2024 Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Restaurant Reviews - Food Delivery & Takeaway - Tripadvisor