The gathering of smart-looking guys in suits stood outside Mister Lasagna gave us a clue as to what to expect before we’d even entered.
New restaurant Mister Lasagna fits well with the cadre of Italian restaurants springing up across Soho over the last few years, catering to the busy central London worker keen for something that’s not a Chinese restaurant or an over-priced chain.
Founded on Brick Lane among other celebrated food stalls, Mister Lasagna has lofty ambitions – and Alessandro Limone, the Naples-born founder, seem serious about achieving them. His intention is to elevate lasagna to the level of pizza. Knowing our love of Italian food and the growing desire for something a bit different in London, he thinks it’s the ideal food for the UK market.
Mister Lasagna is clear from the range of lasagnas they offer and the way they cater to a wide range of tastes, dietary requirements and also meals of the day. They’re open from 7am seven days a week and do a roaring trade in the morning with people hungry for a freshly cooked breakfast (yup, lasagna for breakfast!) or even just those looking for a coffee and a pastry.
The restaurant itself is nicely decorated with tasteful wooden tables, benches and booths, potted tomato plants on the tables and lighting perfect for a quiet evening meal or somewhere to meet for a slow, Campari-style drink. Behind the bar/counter are a selection of their freshly made lasagnas, all available to takeaway, as well as eat in and the walls are covered in Italian wine and spirit bottles. The iconic Aperol bottles are, of course, present.
Should you find yourself wanting something a little more unusual, they also do a selection of specialist lasagnas including, but not limited to, smoked salmon, mashed potato and egg, truffle and zucchini. We tried a selection of all of these are were very pleasantly surprised by all of them, particularly the zucchini. We were also told that they do some more unusual lasagnas too, such as a Nutella one for breakfast. Sadly, we weren’t able to try it on that occasion, but no doubt it will prove popular.
They also have an excellent selection of traditional Italian desserts, from tiramisu (a personal favourite) to panna cotta and various pastries. Naturally, there’s also a wide range of Italian coffee on offer for the coffee drinkers out there and you can rest assured that it’ll be served to the highest Italian standards.
This Neapolitan based restaurant has high ambitions and seems pretty set on realising them. The clientele on the evening we attended were clearly largely Italian and definitely not put off by Italian food cooked outside of their homes or country. I’ll certainly be going back, if only to try and get hold of that Nutella lasagna.
Is lasagna fast food? Mister Lasagna think so – words: Pete Churchill
