Luca’s pork ragu

THE key to making pasta, some say, is cold hands and a warm heart. This may well be cheesy nonsense, but the chefs at Luca have certainly nailed the technique.

They make trays of the stuff from scratch every morning: from frilly agnolotti to shell-shaped conchiglie, carefully matched to a rainbow of sauces.

This chic Italian restaurant in St John Street in Farringdon has been trading since 2016. Judging from the crowds, it’s a business in rude health.

The place was jumping on the night we visited, with an electric atmosphere that puts a smile on your face.
From the outside, this 19th-century listed building is discrete and unassuming. Step inside and you find a wonderland: a love letter to the food and wine of Italy.

You can perch at the white marble bar, where they shake up drinks like a Chinotto Manhattan, a smokey take on the classic cocktail made with rye whiskey, Italian bitters, lapsang souchong tea and sweet vermouth.

Or slide into a sage green leather booth opposite, where they serve an express menu that might include pici pasta with smoked pork rib ragu or a vegetarian dish of a Corno pepper, cooked over hazelwood, with caponata and a sprinkle of pistachio.

Delve deeper into the building and you pass The Pasta Room, where the chefs work their magic, lavishly decorated as if for a rustic photo shoot.

The large, main dining room is framed by floor-to-ceiling windows hung with long, white cotton curtains.

To the right, is the conservatory space with a gorgeous open fireplace: olive trees, jasmine and long tables set with flickering candles.

Luca is one of London’s grand restaurants, offering what it describes as British seasonal ingredients through an Italian lens.

The menu features Cornish crab, Orkney scallops, Hereford beef and Hen of the Woods foraged mushrooms.

The wine list caters to the deepest of wallets, including stars from Brunello di Montalcino and dusty vintage Barolo.

I visited Luca to treat a friend for her birthday. We slid into a red leather banquette and happily watched the ebbs and flow of the busy service.

The cooking is memorable. Best of the starters was a plate of monkfish crudo: morsels of the raw fish dressed with a sweet and sour green emulsion, pickled fennel and slices of grilled Miyagawa clementine.

A bowl of cappelletti pasta was insanely rich and buttery, the pasta parcels stuffed with whipped potato then draped with crispy sage leaves and porcini mushrooms.

A chunk of lamb, served with borlotti beans and smoked aubergine, was the best tasting meat we had tried in ages.

Needless to say, the cooking at Luca does not come cheap. The chef’s four-course tasting menu costs £85; pasta dishes hover around £20; main dishes double that price.

If that feels steep, the bar menu (£26 for two courses) is your best bet. Either way, you won’t regret it. Luca is a truly a class act.

Luca
88 St John Street, EC1M
www.luca.restaurant
@luca.restaurant