A small pasta menu is matched by an even smaller dining space at Oi Spaghetti. (Photo: peachphoto.org)
Do I normally like getting lumped with choosing the restaurant for dinner with a friend? Yes. I'm a control freak with experience in the industry, so while I love when people come up with suggestions, I'm normally the bothersome one that bats them down, owed to the fact I've seen recent press, and spend my entire day trawling a website with over 60,000 something pages of restaurant content (subtle brag).
And with Oi Spaghetti, I'd nailed it again.
Tucked away in the yard behind Peckham's Bussey Building sits a shed that wouldn't be out of place in Homebase, and while scattered with potted plants around its edge, it's not until you get inside that you really acknowledge how small the spot is.
Elbow room? Just about. (Photo: peachphoto.org)
Home to only 4 tables, and able to seat (I'd say) no more than 10 at a time, Oi Spaghetti isn't try to win the 'big enough to swing a cat around' award. But it doesn't matter. Two Italian men man the tiny kitchen (I can see everything, seasoning, cupboards, cutlery, hobs and all), while my friend and I look over the easy-to-navigate menu of no more than 4/5 spaghetti options.
A buffalo mozzarella and garlic brus(K)etta showcased simple and honest starters, as the small selection of mains represented Italy's championship of flour and water. Spaghetti with girth, this was no ordinary plate of pasta... but it also kind of was; keeping things uncomplicated, Oi Spaghetti clearly pride themselves on the classics done right as I lapped up 'The Red One' (£13.50), a large plate of organic passata, MUTTI tomatoes, kalamata olives, capers and oregano. Backed up by the only white wine available on the night, a craft pinot grigio carafe at £14, this mound of spaghetti felt like a family secret; a recipe i'd been let in on; something i'd been trusted to keep close to my heart. It was that good.
The DesignMyNight Digest
Is there a bathroom? No (but you can tinkle locally). Will local dogs try and patter on in through the open restaurant doors on a hot day? Yes. And while I'm not sure if it was the predictable but perfect combo of pasta and wine, the tiny treat of a space, the great food or that I'd had two cocktails beforehand, it's safe to say that there's nothing about this petite Peckham pasta restaurant that I didn't love.
For more pasta restaurants in London, check out our recommendations.
