Tashas

Tashas isn’t just a restaurant. Nor is it just a coffee shop. Instead this spot falls comfortably in the middle, mastering the all-day cafe. Like an airport, there are no rules and no reason why you shouldn’t have a bowl of rigatoni and a glass of wine at 11am while your friend has avocado toast. Unlike an airport, which its shiny, soulless Battersea Power Station home can feel like, you’ll actually enjoy the food. 

Tashas is a Pinterest board called Beige Minimalist Chic come to life. There are copious amounts of cushions, paper teapots hang from the ceiling like an art installation in the lobby of a £700-a-night hotel, and it’s so pretty that even your most technologically challenged friend can get a good picture of you here. 

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Casual coffee dates have the potential to turn into three-hour lunches, because everyone looks good next to the floor to ceiling windows. It also helps that the menu caters just as well for your health-conscious aunt as it does your kind-of-bratty cousin, and breakfast is served until a non-judgmental 2pm. Yes, the wait for a table can be an hour if you come on the weekend, but if you order right once you’re in, you won’t regret it at all.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

The pastas are the highlight and Savva’s chicken rigatoni is undoubtedly our favourite. Yes, the sauce probably has enough double cream in it to make Gino D’Acampo’s forehead veins pop, but it's a comforting meal that we’ll never tire of. Sandwiches are serious business too, like the hefty steak prego roll with generous amounts of rich spicy tomato sauce on the side for dunking. There are a couple of misses, like an aubergine mille feuille that’s a little bland, but ultimately, the menu is a pretty safe bet, whatever time of day you come. 

Food Rundown

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Savva’s Chicken Pasta

This hefty bowl of pasta isn’t trying to be Italian, it doesn’t overcomplicate things, and it’s one of the best pastas we’ve had in London. Garlic-heavy cream sauce clings to al dente rigatoni, thick slices of earthy mushrooms add a nice peppery touch, and slices of grilled chicken are tender and covered in parmesan cheese. We could eat this for lunch and dinner on the same day.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Prawn Pasta

We’re big fans of this pasta. The spicy prego sauce is mixed with lemon butter and stracciatella to make a creamy, garlicky tomato sauce. Peppered with tender tiger prawns and topped with golden toasted breadcrumbs, it’s an excellent fish pasta.

Steak Prego

A big ol’ steak sarnie. The roll is chewy and light, and the steak is cut nice and thick. Definitely make use of the mini pickles that come with it, throw in some lettuce, and drench it in the spicy prego sauce, because that’s when it gets good.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Schnitzel Sarmie

While the main ingredient is a huge piece of fried chicken, the avocado salad inside the sandwich keeps it tasting refreshing and dare we say, light? A great lunchtime order.

Sweet Toast

The thick slab of brioche, stuffed with grainy frangipane, pairs nicely with the fresh strawberries on top. This is a decent-enough sweet brunch option but only if you really, really like almonds.

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Sweetcorn Scramble

As it comes, this dish isn’t very exciting, but add some green pepper Tabasco sauce and it’s a game changer. The sharp tang from the jalapeño Tabasco makes the silky scrambled egg with charred sweetcorn a great breakfast dish.

Cheezy Chicken Quesadilla

We’re big fans of cheese, so when something has the word ‘cheezy’ in the name, we expect some oozing. You won’t find that in this quesadilla. Filled with grilled chicken and sundried tomatoes, it’s a little bland and disappoints on the cheese front.