Grasso Formerly: Wagamama

Spaghetti and meatballs return to Soho in fashion (for a price) at this lively and local-feeling two-floor 180-seater in Dean St operated by Sean "Seanie Grasso" McCaffrey, whose previous ventures include Cookhouse Joe (Berwick St) and whose Soho-veteran Maltese-British parents started nearby Soho Joe [see entry]. The New York-inspired menu includes made-to-order pizza, penne alla vodka, chicken parmesan (aka chicken parm), meatball melt pizza, jumbo shrimp and caesar salad, plus tiramisu lifted by a honey bourbon cream. The meatballs are a family recipe going way back, possibly further back than McCaffrey's Sicilian great-grandmother. Cocktails are also a thing here. Attracts party diners, to audible effect, and sounds created by a basement DJ — tucked away in a booth directly adjacent to the toilets, apparently in an ode to Berlin — only compound the noise situation. That said, there are one or two nooks and crannies, including a recommended banquette not far from the entrance. Not outrageously expensive, but certainly not cheap, especially when considering the family/budget-friendly origins of spaghetti and meatballs and chicken parmesan. Opened late November 2023 in a space that until 2020 served as Wagamama's designery 'noodle lab' test kitchen.