The top line: A 175-year-old former Victorian pub on east London’s Columbia Road is the setting for chef Dara Klein’s debut restaurant. Klein, who previously operated Tiella as a kitchen residency Tiella at The Compton Arms in Islington, has brought the spirit of the unpretentious, no frills Italian trattorias to the capital alongside her childhood friend, restaurateur Ry Jessup.
On the menu: Tiella serves regional, homestyle (‘casarecce’) Italian cooking, influenced by Klein’s Pugliese heritage and her childhood spent in the in Emilia-Romagna town of San Giovanni in Persiceto. The cooking is rustic and portions are generous, with dishes on the menu that could include orecchiette with cime di rapa and pangrattato; delica pumpkin, radicchio agrodolce and taleggio fonduta; and chicken Milanese with green apple, celery, fennel, creme fraiche and fresh herbs. The tight menu includes just a couple of sides - fried potatoes with rosemary and aioli; and braised greens with chilli and garlic - and two desserts - a bay leaf panna cotta with blood oranges; and torta Caprese with amarena cherries and creme fraiche. Drinks wise, the wine list has been created in partnership with Klein’s father at Artigiano Imports, with a focus on winemakers who follow holistic principles. Two Italian house wines from Uncharted Wines are available on tap, either by the glass or carafe, alongside three beers.
The vibe: The site was once home to The Globe pub, which was built around 1865, and later became The Stingray Globe Café, a pizzeria and bar that operated for nearly 30 years. As Tiella, Klein and Jessup have set out to capture the spirit of Italy’s trattorie, which are said to have originated when families opened their homes to the public, transforming their front rooms into dining spaces. On entrance, guests are met with a 15-seat bar that leads to an intimate 30-cover dining room connected by an open kitchen at the rear. The colour palette reflects the rustic approach, with terracotta, red and yellow hues throughout that blend with wood panelling and the pub’s original Victorian tiling, as does the furniture and fittings, much of which has been sourced from antique markets and reclamation yards. In better weather the pair also intend to make use of a 20-cover terrace to the front of the restaurant.
And another thing: Tiella is described by Klein as a ‘deeply personal project’. She says she was immediately drawn to the Columbia Road site because of its close resemblance to her parents’ trattoria Maria Pia’s in New Zealand. Tiella’s logo, meanwhile, is inspired by the pastifico her grandmother ran in Salento.
109 Columbia Road, London, E2 7RL / www.tiella.co.uk