Borough pasta joint Padella ‘excited’ at opening of new Shoreditch venue

The owners of a renowned Borough Market pasta restaurant have voiced their excitement at opening up another branch in Shoreditch.

Jordan Frieda and Tim Siadatan, a graduate of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen project, set up Padella in Southwark with a philosophy of affordable handmade food, and received permission on 5 September to open a new branch on Phipp Street.

The restaurant will not be allowing queues outside its premises and committed to holding meetings with residents at least every six months, in response to concerns raised by neighbours over the impact of a licensed venue on their residential street.

Owner Jordan Frieda said: “Padella is a different kind of experience. We wanted to have an inclusive restaurant.

“This shouldn’t be an experience just for people who are rich, and at £20 a head you see a lot of different people. As restaurateurs, that’s what we’re about.

“We’re really excited. You’ve got a load of great operators there right now, and it just feels like a fantastic place.

“You want to measure yourself against the best people, so it’s a very exciting environment at the moment.”

Shoreditch residents present at the meeting expressed their “mistrust” at council or operator assurances that the impact of any new venue in their area would we well-policed.

At a separate licensing meeting at the end of August, PC Kerrie Ryan had raised the alarm that violent crime, drunkenness, aggression and confrontational behaviour have increased “significantly” in Shoreditch over the past year.

Resident Andrew Clark said: “Our experience is that commercial operators do not adhere to what they’ve promised. Other operators have made similar promises and they are just ignored.

“This has degraded our trust in any applicants for a commercial operation and local authorities to deliver what’s promised.

“It’s not reasonable to add another licence to the area. The council are keen to state their commitment to looking after residents’ interests in the face of commercial interests. Let’s see some evidence of that.”

A representative for Padella said: “From where we’re sitting on this side of the fence, it feels as though we’re caught in a bit of a disagreement between residents and Hackney Council, rather than with ourselves.

“One of the concerns relates to queues outside our premises. We can’t hide from the queues which formed outside Padella in Borough, they’re a mark of our success.

“However, by virtue of our lease, we are not permitted to have queues forming outside these premises.

“This is a hell of an operator. This Padella will be a boon to Hackney, and a jewel in your fiefdom.”

Cllr Brian Bell said that the council wished Padella well, adding that the restaurant would make “a good addition” to the area.