In Hackney, a local favourite enters a new chapter as House of Dré unveil the transformed interiors for Tom’s Pasta; the neighbourhood restaurant whose following has grown from backyard legend to East London fixture. The refurbishment doubles the size of the original space, introducing a generous dining room, a refreshed bar, an expanded kitchen, and an outdoor area that gives the restaurant a presence equal to its reputation. The result is a space that feels current yet unmistakably rooted in the identity Tom Haydon has cultivated since those early lasagne deliveries from his mum’s shed.
The collaboration between House of Dré’s founder and creative director Andreas Christodoulou and Haydon has a shared history. The pair met at Hackney Downs Studios, the community that surrounds the restaurant, Tom’s Pasta having become a firm favourite of the artists, designers and filmmakers who make up the thriving creative population around it.
Rather than draw directly from Italy, House of Dré looked to the lineage of Italian-run dining rooms that once defined the area. This influence surfaces in walnut timber details, in the stainless-steel bar softened with a playful fringe, and in the mix of bespoke banquettes and reclaimed vintage seating that sets the room up with a mix of personality and comfortable familiarity. Newly designed dining tables echo the project’s material language, while atmospheric lighting creates a soft glow.
Art plays a central role in the new-look Tom’s Pasta, with the walls acting as a platform for emerging creatives from Hackney Downs Studios. Each piece was made within metres of the restaurant, and profits from sales go directly to the artists. The palette of tiramisu cream, pasta yellow, chrome accents adds a subtle richness, drawing diners into a room that feels effortlessly homely.
For Christodoulou, the project is “about collaboration and community at its core,” a sentiment that resonates throughout the space. Tom’s Pasta emerges not simply renewed, but reaffirmed, a family-minded restaurant shaped by the people who fill it and ready for its next chapter in the heart of East London.
Tom’s Pasta Hackney Photography, Milo Hutchings Interiors / © Chris Coulson Food & Drink.
