Sugo 82 serves delicious Italian Street Food at their restaurant on Sayer Street in Elephant and Castle, London SE17. I first encountered them at Vinegar Yard London Bridge, where they have a small food hut. If you haven’t been to the Elephant and Castle area for a while, it’s undergone a significant facelift, with Sayer Street as the food epicentre. It’s worth wandering around to see the redevelopment and the new restaurants. If you’re looking for the best places to eat in Elephant and Castle, Italian food in SE17 or Sayer Street, you must seek out Sugo 82.
“Sample Italian street food by young Italian chefs including arancini, interesting pasta dishes and dinky filled ‘Bombolini’ doughnuts while you chill out at the friendly Sugo 82 restaurant in Elephant and Castle,” Homegirl London
Sugo 82 Italian Street Food Menu
My partner and I ate at this restaurant at the end of May. I’ve only just found the time to write about it because I’ve been super busy. I remember we were out for a walk and wanted to sit outside to eat, so Sugo 82 was the perfect option. We were delighted with the food and the service; it was a pleasurable experience.
I recall the deep-fried arancini risotto balls that were bursting with flavour. The Veggie options are tomato with mozzarella or aubergine and tomato. Meaty eaters may like the spicy Calabrian pork sausage, and another choice is squid ink. I think arancini is an excellent starter if you haven’t tried them before. Inside is a creamy risotto filling, and the outside is crunchy. When you bite in, the filling oozes out. It’s a bit messy but well worth it!
We shared a couple of pasta dishes, the tagliolini (ribbon pasta) with black truffle and mushroom sauce topped with ground almonds. The sauce was rich and full of flavour without the black truffle overpowering, so this dish was consumed quickly! I’ve never eaten ground almonds on top of my pasta before, but it worked.
The other lovely pasta we chose was the orecchiette (shell-like pasta often called Little Ears) with pesto, a homemade Southern Italian basil and pistachio pesto topped with sundried tomatoes. Again, it was tasty, and I realised that they seem to have a thing with nuts and pasta! Meaty pasta dishes are tagliatelle nduja, a spectacular sounding fusilli six-hour pork ragu and rigatoni carbonara.
We added a fresh and fabulous salad of fennel, blood orange and black olive to offset the carbs.
The burrata and summer tomatoes with homemade pesto and herb croutons was another dish we couldn’t resist. The creamy burrata was a pleasing contrast with the crunchy croutons.
Save a little space for dessert. Unfortunately, they had run out of tiramisu, so we tried the ‘Bombolini’ instead. These are three mini doughnuts filled with pistachio cream or Nutella (chocolate and hazelnuts), and we opted for the pistachio. They gave us four doughnuts so that we wouldn’t fight over them! Be warned that they are straight out of the fryer, so try to wait before you take a bite!
Arancini costs £3-4.50, pasta £8.50-11, salad £6.50-8.50 and desserts £4-4.50. The drinks list includes draught Peroni, Aperol Spritz, a couple of Italian wines, and some soft drinks.
Sugo 82, Sayer Street, Elephant and Castle Information
To find out more, visit the Sugo Website. The restaurant address is 21 Sayer Street, London SE17 1FY, a short walk from Elephant and Castle station. Please check the website for opening times. There are a few seats outside the restaurant, and inside, the décor is cute, with a few vintage items dotted around. It’s the ideal place to enjoy lunch, an evening meal with a few friends, or a cosy dinner for two.
While you’re in the area, you may want to explore further, so please read my Ten Things To Do In Elephant and Castle Post:
Ten Things To Do In Elephant and Castle
Author: Homegirl London. Photographs: Homegirl London. I only write about restaurants where I had a good experience. I recommend you undertake further research as restaurant standards fluctuate, as do opinions. Please check if the restaurant is still in business and the opening times before you go. If you discover this restaurant has closed, contact me to remove it from my blog.
