Following the success of London-based pasta delivery company OTTO, Michelin-starred chef Phil Howard and business partner Julian Dyer (Pots & Co) are set to open their first bricks and mortar site in early November. Having initially debuted as an online delivery service in May 2021, OTTO will celebrate Phil’s career long love of pasta with its simple ingredient-led dishes with a chic, all-day pasta bar located in Piccadilly.

Executive chef Louis Korovilas (Locanda Locatelli, Pied à Terre, Bancone) will be at the helm in the kitchen. Louis, who has worked alongside several acclaimed chefs including Giorgio Locatelli and Marcus Eaves, has extensive fresh pasta experience and will oversee the entire food operation. Alongside Louis, Nicholas Georgoulakis (Sloane Street Deli, Elystan Street) joins as General Manager and Harvi Singh (Le Manoir aux Quat’saisons and Elystan Street) as Operations Manager.

Founder Phil and restaurateur  Rebecca  Mascarenhas will continue to run Elystan Street, Kitchen W8 and Church Road with all the passion, care, and attention to detail that has been the hallmark of their successful partnership.

Phil’s love of pasta will shine through in the OTTO menu offering delicious, authentic pasta dishes flanked by simple, freshly prepared snacks, starters and desserts. Dishes on the menu will change according to the season, including: Gnocchetti with smashed sausage, white wine, fennel and chilli (£10), Pappardelle with slow cooked shin of beef, oxtail and red wine (£13), Bucatini with a ragout of autumn vegetables, mushrooms and chestnuts (£9), and Squid ink spaghetti with a sauce of sardines, garlic, sweet peppers and tomato (£13). Snacks will come in the form of wonderful olives, OTTO’s rosemary, rock salt, tomato and garlic focaccia and endless crostini. Starters will see staples such as Vitello tonnato given all the love they deserve. Deeply rooted in using extraordinarily good ingredients and recipes honed from Phil’s years of top-flight restaurant cooking, OTTO will be an affordable and accessible concept celebrating the simplicity of Italian cuisine.

The 74-cover site will be stylish and casual with the focal point of the pasta bar an open central kitchen where the pasta magic is visible for all to see. The light-filled space will have a neutral colour palette – think stone-coloured walls, oversized rattan light shades, touches of olive-green mosaic tiles and wooden features – which will come together to evoke a warm and comfortable Italian trattoria.

Phil comments: “It would be fair to say that I have spent my career to date cooking a certain kind of ingredient at a certain kind of price point. I’ve loved it all, and continue to do so, but it is exciting however to have a project that can be delivered without compromise, at a price point that is wholly accessible to all. The fact that pasta is the medium is the icing on the cake and with the fantastic team we have in place the goal is simple – to bring pleasure to fellow Londoners by sharing authentic pasta dishes in a relaxed fun environment.”