The Next Chef on London’s Most Famous Inductions Is a Pasta Master

A Shoreditch pasta master will join the ranks of London’s most famous induction hobs from early September. Mitchell Damota, formerly head chef at Burro e Salvia — known for its low-key dining room and superb fresh pasta — will take over at Clapton wine bar P. Franco from 10 September.

Damota has been on deck in E5 this summer already, spending June and July as guest chef, before doing what all sensible chefs do when they can and spending August on holiday. He will bring what the bar describes as “lesser-known pasta styles and dishes” to the dining room; in his first stint this mantra encompassed Abruzzese pallote, patties formed of cheese, egg, and breadcrumbs and fried; friggione, a Bolognese pastra triangle stuffed with tomato and onion; and 40-yolk tajarin.

His arrival will also mark uncharted territory of another kind: a Monday opening for a place that has previously not dallied with the least exciting day of the week (and one of the most common days off for independent restaurants.) The kitchen will open from 3-8 p.m.

Damota succeeds Jamie Smart, who is now cooking at the exciting Cadet in Newington Green.