"There are bowls of pasta that you skip starters for, require a napkin tucked into your collar, and contain a sauce that splatters tablecloths and passers-by. Then there are pretty plates of pasta that you chew thoughtfully between sips of wine and snatches of conversation. Marcella, an Italian restaurant in Deptford, does the latter. Spaghetti cotechino comes with polite specks of sausage and paccheri alla norma gets a light tomato sauce coat rather than a full-on winter jacket. With its white walls and dainty ceramic dishes, Marcella at its buzziest is a grown-up Mediterranean holiday. And at its quietest, a lab where genetically perfect pasta is made. It’s an ideal date night spot for food that’s bound to be prettier than your partner, and sophisticated meet-ups with discerning friends." - Sinéad Cranna
