I took a trip to this restaurant on the recommendation of a friend who works there. She had absolutely rave reviews for the place and after a quick scroll of their insta I was hooked. Tom’s Pasta is unsurprisingly headed up by a chef named Tom, who mans the kitchen on his own churning out starters, mains and desserts for a packed restaurant. I was so impressed he kept up with all the orders on his own and that he never skimped on the quality. Again unsurprisingly, Tom’s Pasta at heart is a pasta restaurant, specialising in lasagne! In my experience you very rarely see a lasagne on a menu, so I was really excited to try these out. Tom started the business as a lasagne delivery service by bike (absolutely genius), and has moved into a restaurant space in Hackney Downs Studios, right next to Hackney Downs park. This is a really great space, part of the larger creative studios complex. Tom’s Pasta is in the downmarket building, which also houses All Good Beer who have a really great selection of beers & wines to have with your meal. There is also a cafe/bakery in this space open during the day, Brunswick East, which I haven’t tried. Anyway, back to Tom’s Pasta – and let’s talk food.

The menu changes almost daily, although there are some seemingly staple dishes including the pork & beef lasagne, n’duja lasagne and the genovese lasagne. To start, we ordered the whole starter menu – 2x burrata with sourdough, the bruschetta and the meat & cheese plate. All of this was fantastic. The burrata came very simply drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper and good quality sourdough. The meat & cheese plate came with more burrata, mortadella and some cured ham. The bruschetta was crisp, fresh and garlicky. What’s not to love?!

For main I got the pork & beef lasagne and no word of a lie this was probably the best lasagne I’ve ever had. Maybe better than the one I make and that’s saying something because I really back myself. Firstly, it comes hidden under a mountain of cheese which is a great start. Secondly, the lasagne itself uses the most delicious, rich and deeply flavoured ragu – you can really tell the time and effort gone into it and it absolutely pays off. Thirdly, the bechamel is soooo thick and so creamy. Fourthly, pasta. Again an absolutely winning combination. My friends all got the n’duja which is very similar to the pork & beef but with added n’duja. They were kind enough to let me try a bite and that, too, was wonderful. No surprise really that combining one beautiful thing (that lasagne) with another (n’duja) makes another beautiful thing. We also got a 3 sides of the buttery garlic bread which was a new addition to the menu that day. Think a beautiful, thick slice of sourdough drenched in garlic butter and topped with cheese – as you can imagine, it was a great great thing.

We rounded off the meal with the lasagne of the dessert world – tiramisu. Yet again, Tom is giving me a run for my money as I think his tiramisu might be better than my own which, again, is saying something because I back myself hard. We got a huge slab in a bowl. First thing that struck me was how yellow the cream was, I assume owing to the use of some really good eggs. It was rich from the cream but light from the sponge, with the perfect amount of coffee flavour that wasn’t too overpowering. Another triumph.

If you can’t tell already, I’m such a huge fan of Tom’s Pasta. All the food was incredible, really up my street – Italian food done super well. I was also so impressed that Tom could do all this by himself in the kitchen, including serving a table of 18 plus the rest of the restaurant. The vibe in the place is great too, very relaxed and everyone who works there is super fun (I’m definitely biased as my mate works there, but she’s a lot of fun I promise). I really recommend a trip to this place, I’ll definitely be returning to try the other lasagnes, the aubergine parm and I’ve seen some tagliatelle knocking about on their insta too. Let me know in the comments how you find it if you take a trip!

Find them at 17 Amhurst Terrace, London E8 2BT