Tiella restaurant review: rustic trattoria classics in London

(Image credit: Caitlin Isola)

It is often said that the pub is the UK equivalent of the French bistro, but chef Dara Klein thinks the pub is the British version of the Italian trattoria, the dress-down sibling of the ristorante. Klein has a unique perspective: she was born in Emilia-Romagna, the foodie capital of Italy, but raised in New Zealand, where her parents – pioneers of the Slow Food movement – owned a trattoria in Wellington. Now with her first permanent venture, Tiella in London, Klein is continuing the family legacy, right down to the logo inspired by the pastificio her grandmother ran.

The mood: Emilia-Romagna by way of east London

Tiella began life as a two-year residency in Islington pub The Compton Arms; now, at the new location in Bethnal Green, Klein and her business partner and childhood friend, restaurateur Ry Jessup, have restored the 160-year-old premises that were formerly the Globe pub into somewhere that mixes the wood-heavy interiors of Klein’s childhood trattorias with vintage London finds.

'Pubs, like trattorias, should never look the same,' Klein says. 'They should be embedded with character and quirks. We’ve kept old furniture and fixtures, stripping back the layers of paint that were covering the amazing old pub tiles outside. We haven’t worked with any interior designers, just letting childhood memories and heart inform us.'

That said, Jessup has also been guided by his friend Herb Palmer, the Walthamstow-based furniture designer. ‘Fresco’ chairs, designed by Victor Wilkins for G Plan in the 1960s, have been reupholstered, while five hand-painted 1970s pasta bowls from Italian company Autogrill, unearthed at the Sunbury Antiques Market, line the walls, along with what Klein calls 'a whole car boot of random treasures'.

The commitment to recycled materials extends to the outside, too, with paving of reclaimed Yorkstone. 'We knew that objects which have lived a life were important because we want the space to feel like it has been there forever,' Klein says.

The food: rustic sophistication

The menu is based around rustic trattoria classics executed with top-notch British and Italian produce. Primi showcase pasta from a husband-and-wife team in Sardinia – think orecchiette laced with cime di rapa and toasted breadcrumbs, or passatelli in brodo, the traditional pasta-in-broth that Klein calls her all-time favourite dish.

There’s creativity too: chicken Milanese arrives with a zingy burst of green apple, celery and fennel dressed in crème fraîche. The wine list, meanwhile, has been developed with Klein's father Richard of Artigiano Imports.

The only thing harder than choosing what to eat is where to eat it: the 15-seat bar, 30-cover dining room or 20-seat terrace for when the sun shines. Who says a pub in east London isn’t just like a trattoria in Emilia-Romagna?

Tiella is located at 109 Columbia Road, London, E2 7RL

tiella.co.uk

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Ben McCormack is a London-based restaurant journalist with over 25 years’ experience of writing. He has been the restaurant expert for Telegraph Luxury since 2013, for which he was shortlisted in the Restaurant Writer category at the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards. He is a regular contributor to the Evening Standard, Food and Travel and Decanter. He lives in west London with his partner and lockdown cockapoo.