Flour & Grape, Bermondsey

One thing I cannot live without, other than my new inhaler, is pasta. Call me cliche, but honestly it’s one of those that every time someone says:

“Would you rather die or give-up pasta?”

I know the answer immediately. In fact my addiction is SO strong, that despite the clear signs I am obviously intolerant to gluten, I still continue to eat it around 5 times a week. And I beg the question again, why do the things we love most hurt us the most?

And one of my favourite places for pasta in London is, as the title suggests, Flour & Grape.

Located at the bottom of buzzy Bermondsey Street, Flour & Grape is an intimate restaurant with a fairly small cover. As you arrive, you’ll see people making pasta in the window and creating their brilliant menu. When you enter, it’s candle lit with a nice feel - one that reminds me a lot of New York - and instantly you feel calm, collected...and totally ready for a glass of wine.

Thankfully, you’re in luck as they offer a great wine list with some great, and reasonable, options. Or if you’d prefer a gin and tonic, they’ve got a gin bar downstairs which you can visit before or after your meal...and even try their gin flight.

So back to pasta...you can’t book for dinners, but you can for lunches, and the wait can often be long. In fact, they have been known to be fully booked before 7pm in busier times. If you don’t want to head there you can always sign-up to the walk-in app and book a table there. 

In the restaurant, you’re seated on a sharing table or private table, depending on availability, and you’re given 90 minutes. I totally get the reasoning for this but it does mean it’s not a long-term evening plan. 

The menu is simple and cheap - but brilliant. Dishes can vary from £8-12, and the portion sizes are more than enough. The pappardelle (a slow cooked ragu) or the Tortelloni (roasted pork shoulder with sage butter) are winners for me and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had them, but between my best friend and I we’ve inhaled most of the menu. 

They will often do specials which vary a lot and I've seen plenty of different ones; a few months ago they did a fantastic shrimp and tomato pasta which just had the most incredible flavour.

Personally, I always enjoy something sweet after dinner; and Flour & Grape provide the goods in the form of dessert wine...which totally counts as a dessert right? If you are perhaps a little more sensible than myself, then

If you’re looking for a cheap, chilled out pasta location in the SE1 area then I could not recommend this enough. Padella is great, I’m not knocking it, but it’s become a tourist hotspot with huge queues and filling up even quicker than Flour & Grape. This is however a fantastic alternative with brilliant food, a great atmosphere and significantly less people...perfect.

Buon Appetito.

214 Bermondsey St, SE1 3TQ

https://www.flourandgrape.com/