Noci, one of Richmond’s newest arrivals, has brought its ‘modern pasta’, seasonal ingredients and snacks inspired by the street food of Sicily to the borough.
Its first London venue opened in March 2022 in Islington Green, followed by more sites in Shoreditch and Battersea Power Station. Its shiny new Richmond outpost is located in the former Fat Badger site at the bottom of Richmond Hill, where Hill Rise and Petersham Road split.
The interiors are immediately pleasing - a serene colour palette of sage green and sandy tones intermingled with fresh foliage, textured plaster walls and pleasingly smooth modern wooden furniture.
Aperitivo
You can sit in the vast, rather cavernous dining room at the back or in the light-filled space at the front, near the small open kitchen and big windows which look out over Hill Rise.
An excellent negroni kicked things off nicely - and reasonable at £7.50. The non alcoholic grapefruit and elderflower spritz (£6) was just as delicious. Two hunks of fresh focaccia (£4.50, baked daily in the kitchen) studded with sweet tomatoes and soft bulbs of garlic arrived next, ready to be dunked into the pot of delicious olive oil provided.
To eat
Noci’s flavour-filled menu is genuinely enticing and offers a good amount of creativity, interest and seasonality considering that it is fast falling into chain restaurant terrority. The Castelfranco radicchio and courgette salad with lemon, mint and anchovy dressing (£9.50) sounded delicious, and was for the most part, but too much vinegar made it a bit of a struggle. The crispy fried mussels however were devilishly moreish, and freshened up nicely by a shaved fennel and cucumber salad with a herby yoghurt dressing (£11).
You can rarely go wrong with burrata (£10.50) - at Noci it comes plumply sat on a deliciously oily pile of courgette scapece - Neapolitan fried courgette with vinegar, chilli, garlic and mint marinade.
Bowls wiped cleaned with the remaining focaccia, it was time for Noci’s celebrated ‘modern' pasta. Despite the temptation of the brown butter cacio e pepe (£10), I went for the silk handkerchiefs (£15) - a Noci signature with a regularly changing seasonal twist.
Folds of fresh silky pasta sheets came piled and layered with zippy spring favours of mint, peas, sautéed leeks, and walnuts, and all topped with a confit egg yolk – just to make it even silkier and deliciously rich.
My tiger prawn gnocchetti (£16.50) wasn’t terribly easy on the eye (there was something off putting about the chubby pink prawns curled up on top) but it tasted better than it looked; the simple roasted red pepper sauce gently laced with red onion, orange and tarragon and the aforementioned prawns satisfyingly meaty.
The highlights
Dessert was the highlight for me – the lemon and yoghurt budino (£8) is a creamy, palette-cleansing dream. Equally delicious was the coffee and tequila cheesecake (£8) topped with crunchy amaretti – decadent and deeply satisfying, with a faint boozy kick that cut through the richness.
The other thing I liked about Noci was the friendly service, especially Felix, who was charming and incredibly helpful.
The prices are snappy for 2024, and I couldn’t fault the atmosphere either - on a Monday night the music was upbeat and it was buzzing with both walk-ins and reservations, but with the opening of nearby Pasta Evangelists looming, there’s going to be some tough competition for Richmond’s top pasta prize...
Noci is open now at 15-17 Hill Rise, Richmond TW10 6UQ. Book online at nocirestaurant.co.uk/richmond
