18 hours ago
It's like Monty Don's offering a helping hand in the kitchen
I've long attempted to work out what exactly people mean when they call something a 'neighbourhood restaurant'. In the London context at least, I have arrived at the conclusion that it is simply a restaurant that isn't in Soho (or Shoreditch at a push). Pasero then, plonked on the Seven Sisters end of West Green Road in Tottenham, certainly makes the cut, a welcoming space with something of the 1960s primary school aesthetic about it, with shades of beige, terracotta and British racing green, as well as a small deli and bottle shop.
Opened in 2022, the idea was for it to be a hub for a series of rotating chefs, a bit like Carousel in Fitzrovia. Of course, this is a lovely idea – Marie Mitchell one week, Ling Ling's the next, and Anna Sogaard right after – but surely a logistical pain in the arse. After almost three years, the Pasero people have decided to make their lives easier and go steady with a full-time chef. It's a good one, too - previous Pasero pop-up champ Diamantis Kalogiannidis, who honed his skills at double Michelin star wonder Da Terra in Bethnal Green.
His blackboard menu is short and sweet. A ham-hock croquette is a powerful thing. Almost as large as a scotch egg, and with a crunch to rival on a Twiglet on the outside. Inside, it's densely packed with sweet, moist and perfectly pink hock. This is a hearty, Hampton Court Palace banquet-worthy snack, the ideal thing for King Henry VIII to nibble on while deciding which woman's life to ruin next. A wild-bream crudo, in contrast, is ultra delicate, tarted up for the ball with sliced strawberries and an intoxicating smoked creme fraiche. The perfect light relief after the girthy hock croq.
A plate brimming with tomatoes (on top of bright, light Cretan cheese) tells us that Kalogiannidis isn't just into seasonality on a whim, this is a chef who goes giddy for fresh produce. Dishes here are topped with springs of lemon verbena, elevated with flirty, flapping shiso leaves - it's like Monty Don's offering a helping hand in the kitchen, liberally flinging the day's haul from the allotment onto each plate on the pass.
Chalkstream trout - boasting the crispiest fish skin I may have ever encountered - comes with yet more tomatoes, olives, sprigs of tangy Italian green agretti (that'll be Monty at work again) and some slightly too sturdy artichokes, but is also furiously fresh. The gamey bavette steak was the second meatiest moment of the meal following the croquette, served with a rich splodge of black garlic sauce and a controversially thin - aka unlumpy - chimichurri. The flavours are all there, but there's something about a thin-ichurri that doesn't sit right with us. Justice for big chunks of green mush, say we.
Dessert returns the needle to its rightful place. Joyfully clumpy crumbles of caramelised white chocolate are dusted onto what is basically an artisan Mini Milk, alongside tart roasted strawberries and floral elderflower gel. It is beauty, it is grace. Pasero then, the almost perfect neighbourhood restaurant.
The vibe Relaxed all-day dining (it's open from 8am for coffee and bakes) in a friendly, mid-century-styled space in Tottenham.
The drink Lots of excellent cocktails (try the potent marg), a well-thought out wine list, and some serious sherry.
