Flour & Grape: Pasta at perky prices on Bermondsey Street

Doing less and doing it better is a common mantra for London restaurants these days, with one-dish-wonders dealing in everything from chicken to charcuterie among the capital’s hottest spots.

Expanding that genre is Flour & Grape, a two-hit-treat on bustling Bermondsey Street. As the name alludes, it has chosen to put all efforts into just a couple of particularly natural bedfellows: pasta and wine, plus a little antipasti and charcuterie for good measure.

When it comes to the flour part of the equation, it has things nailed. Among the highlights of the big-flavoured small(ish) plates of al dente pasta is a rich and earthy slow-cooked beef pappardelle, a serrated-edged gigli pasta with a fragrant fennel-laced sausage ragu, and a very good version of a classic cacio e pepe.

The dishes are the work of Adam Czmiel, former sous chef at Antico which sat on the site previously, and the quality will be nos surprise to those who frequented it back then.

When it comes to the grapes, the list boasts around 25 options by the glass, all of them Italian, starting from just a fiver and each plotted on a handy map showing their origin. A couple we sampled from the lower end of the list did disappoint, but ask the staff for guidance - or tastings - and there’s a lot of very good grape to be found.

The seats are comfy, the atmosphere relaxed and the prices (from £7 a pasta) Italian. It’s custom made for settling in, carbing up and catching up — and unlike the Padellas and Pastaios of this world, you’re unlikely to have to queue.

Visit flourandgrape.com.