10 Things I Love About You

Dear Padella Shoreditch,

It's Marcel, your host. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Either if it's for allowing me to meet some of my favorite humans or being surrounded by passion and hard work every day. You make my belly laugh, but you also make sure to keep it full.

#1 The chocolate tart

The most exciting part of the closing shift is getting to eat all the leftover tarts. How do you manage to make them taste so good? Is it the fact that Alex makes everything from scratch? Or is it the naughty layer of chewy salted caramel? Guess we'll never know. What I do know, though, is that I will never get tired of your chocolate tart. And it never tastes better than it does at 1 am.

#2 The interior

No wonder you're Instagram popular! You're the best type of restaurant. Beautiful on both the inside and the outside. If you were a person, you'd be Meryl Streep or Jane Fonda. No wonder you win fancy interior design competitions. People take pictures and videos of your every single day. I know it can be a little overwhelming, but you're a star baby! And stars don't shy away.

#3 Burrata

Or what I like to call a cheese donut. You don't need much, do you? A bit of salt, pepper, and a splash of olive oil. You're like mozzarella's cool sister. How can you be so simple yet so fabulous? You go well with the sourdough, salami, and a rocket salad. They all love you, and so do I.

#4 Seasonality

You've got it all figured out, don't you? When the nettles are in season, you serve us the most incredible nettle tagliarini with an egg yolk on top to stir it in. It's the most creamy, comforting, and satisfying dish I've ever tried in my life. A bit of nutmeg, black pepper, lemon juice, and parmesan make all the magic. Yep, you've done it again. I think I'll cry when it leaves the menu in few days. What's next in the seasonality calendar?

#5 Drinks? Yes, please!

Is it the aromatic spritz or cherry cola spritz that I love? Trick question. I'm obsessed with both. Gordo really knows how to boost the booze game, doesn't he? Marmelade negroni? Yes, please. You even make sure that every garnish grapefruit is blow-torched. As if you're not extra enough without it. Maybe you're not a drink bar, but those few cocktails you have on the menu are always blowing my mind (in many different ways.) They're the most refreshing thing since air conditioning.

#6 Affordability

You know what else I love about you? You make yourself accessible to anyone. Sure, you look like a fancy restaurant so that all wannabe influencers from Shoreditch can post you on their meaningless Instagram stories, but you also serve the main dish for £5 (made from scratch). You want both a millionaire and a student to feel comfortable and at home. You offer complimentary filtered water, both still and sparkling. You make sure that someone can have a meal for either £5 or £264.

#7 Love

No food in your house is made without love. I see it every day. You're a place filled with passion and genuine love for food, high-quality produce, and hospitality. I am amazed at how all your employees love what they do and how your guests feel when they arrive, enjoy, and leave. You make sure that everything is excellent. The plates look like works of art, the patio feels like a cozy dream. Everything makes us feel... home.

#8 Pici Cacio e Pepe

This one will never get old. The king of cheese dishes. Creamy pasta with pecorino and parmesan cheese and some black pepper. Yummy! This one always gets a second round. That's something I know from my own experience and months of observation.

#9 Perseverance

Remember how a year ago in March, we all cried our eyes out? We've just opened the restaurant. Everything was going so well. And then what? Oh yeah, a global pandemic, lockdowns (1, 2, 3, and 4!) But here we are, over a year later, freshly reopened after lockdown number 4. And look at you smashing it! Pappardelles and negronis are flying around, and you're thriving. You never gave up on your mission.

#10 Suppliers

You don't like getting things the easy way. You always go the extra mile to make sure your customers get the best quality and the most honest product. You get everything delivered in the most eco-friendly ways. You sell wine on tap. How clever is that! You get the artichokes from Sicily, white wine from Kent, and cured meat from a local family company. You actually care about all these things. How rare is that these days?

Thank you for the food.

Thank you for the love.

Thank you for caring.

See you tomorrow,

Marcel