What: An Italian-American restaurant serving up ‘great vibes, great music, big lols, and bottomless lasagna’. Meaning ‘without end’, Senza Fondo serves its unlimited lasagna alongside a selection of comfort food that Tony Soprano would approve of including fettuccine alfredo, aubergine parmigiana and lasagna pizzette. Currently trading evenings only, it will soon launch a lunchtimes-only lasagna sandwich.
Who: Senza Fondo is the debut solo restaurant project for Hawksmoor, Drake & Morgan and Portobello Road Distillery alumnus Joe Worthington, who has given himself the job title of chief bechamel officer. The kitchen is overseen by 28-year-old Australian chef Michael Bagnall, whose CV includes Brunswick House in Vauxhall and Walthamstow natural wine bar Dudley’s. He has recently completed residencies at Bruno in Hackney and at Naughty Piglets in Brixton.
The food: Senza Fondo’s signature dish of slow-cooked beef shin lasagna costs £20 (an artichoke lasagna that is also bottomless is also available for the same price). Other options include burrata with truffle and honey butter; casarecce and spiced red pepper n’duja; French onion ravioli with mascarpone cheese; and tiramisu.
To drink: The cocktail list is tight and focused on classic drinks including a Dry Martini, a Clover Club and a Manhattan. Senza Fondo’s signature cocktail is a Negroni which - oddly - costs £5 when ordered ahead of food and £9.50 thereafter. The wine list is exclusively Italian with the exception of Champagne. Prices start at £33 per bottle or £6 per glass.
The vibe: Set within a former Rossopomodoro site on Rufus Street, the 68-cover site is inspired by rustic Italian trattorias, as well as Italian restaurants in U.S. cities including New York, Chicago, and Boston. Think terracotta tiling, red-and-white-checkered tablecloths and dark wood booth seating.
And another thing: Senza Fondo is one of a growing number of restaurants flying the flag - well, actually two flags - for Italian American cuisine in the capital joining Grasso in Soho, The Dover in Mayfair and Alley Cats in Marylebone and Chelsea. There’s more to come too: Carbone, the high-profile New York restaurant that’s famed for its spicy rigatoni vodka pasta dish, has chosen The Chancery Rosewood in London’s Mayfair as the location for its first European site,
1 Rufus St, London N1 6PE
