When I get to a restaurant just to find there are only eight main courses, and they are all variations on one dish, I get upset over the laziness of the chef.

Not so at Bancone in Borough Market, London. They only offer eight main courses, and all are pasta. However, it is some of the best pasta I have tasted outside of Italy. The lack of a huge choice means the chefs only have to focus on eight dishes, and this means they can really focus on the quality and taste.

We selected the spicy pork and ’nduja ragu with mafalde; silk handkerchiefs, walnut butter and confit egg yolk; and Gorgonzola, Swiss chard, pappardelle and guanciale. We all shared everything and, although l’m not keen on Gorgonzola, it was sensational. The silk handkerchiefs was one large piece of flat parcel pasta with an egg yolk in the centre, with each corner packed with flavour. I cannot state enough how good each dish was.

Bancone is a very hip restaurant where it can take weeks to secure a table, and they take a hefty deposit to ensure you turn up, but the prices are fair. The above dishes ranged from £11 to £17.

There are also eight starters ranging from lardo on toast with truffled honey; fried artichoke and romesco; and crisp native oyster with tartare sauce. I ordered burrata, confit tomato with basil croutons and I can say, without doubt, that it was the best burrata I have ever tasted (and half my family live in Italy!). The flavour of the confit tomato nearly took my head off with the burst of complex flavours. Sensational.

The final bill will not be shocking unless you drink, and then gird your loins – and your wallet.

In my days as a kid in London, Borough Market was a tip, and not somewhere that anyone went unless you were buying or selling dodgy gear but boy, has it changed! It is now the funky, hip part of town with a vast array of restaurants, bars and shops, and it was absolutely rammed on the Saturday we were there.

If you like pasta, go and treat yourself to some of the best in town.

Bancone
Arch 213, Stoney Road, London SE1 9AD
T: 020 3034 1229
E: host@bancone.co.uk