Senza Fondo’s fun factor shines but the lasagne doesn’t - Review - London - The Infatuation
"Senza Fondo is an Italian-American restaurant in Shoreditch that falls somewhere between New York tribute act and a Major League Eating contest. Its USP is £20 per-person bottomless lasagne and we’re going to let you reflect on your own dietary habits and lactose tolerance to decide whether that’s genius or a béchamel pyramid scheme. But considering that the lasagne in question is pretty sloppy, we’re leaning towards the latter. Our resounding memory of this doorstop of pasta is best described by the motto above the open kitchen: “Simply the béchamel”. The slow-cooked beef shin ragu has fled the scene for a life where it can be enjoyed without the assistance of Pepto-Bismol. photo credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley video credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley Pause Unmute Where Senza Fondo does deliver is fun—the loud kind where everyone leaves with the scratchy vocal chords of Sinatra after his third pack of the day. Wedding dancefloor classics blare out the speakers, hydration takes a back seat in the name of tiramisu espresso martinis, and if you’ve got a raging kink for mukbang, boy oh boy have we got the date night recommendation for you. We predict that by 2030 there’ll be several of these £5 Negroni-slinging, Little Italy impersonators around London, primed for birthday parties and loud, rowdy dinners that speed by with the efficiency of Japanese trains. Bottomless brunch better watch its back. If you work in the area, stop by their daytime sandwich hatch, breeze past the false advertising of the pasta-free ‘lasagnwich’, and embrace it for what it is—béchamel in great bread. Food Rundown House Pickles Pickles, like Pedro Pascal’s wink and every dog that’s ever lived, are inherently perfect. They should not be altered. These pickle ribbons are oddly sweet and our prime suspect is the mustard sauce they come lathered in. photo credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley Fettucine Alfredo Let’s not pretend that fettuccine alfredo is ever a particularly punchy pasta, but even by our low-stake cream expectations, this is very bland. Paging parmesan and garlic—this sauce needs thickening up. photo credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley Bottomless Slow Cooked Beef Shin Lasagna Lasagne is a ratio game and in this case, sweet tomato sauce and minced meat have been exiled in favour of rations of beef shin and a whole lot of béchamel. The best thing about this lasagne is its crispy, crunchy top layer that offers a little reprieve from all the white sauce action.A disclosure: We have it on good authority that the most slices of lasagne that have been ordered and finished at Senza Fondo is 7. We’re impressed. Kind of. photo credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley Green Garden Salad If you’ve ever eaten at a great little Italian restaurant in New York then you’re probably already a fan of their ability to carefully disguise a glorious sauce fest as a salad. But this salad comes dripping in sauce that is way too sweet." - Heidi Lauth Beasley
