Nipotina – literally meaning granddaughter – is a London Italian restaurant all about the love for handcrafted pasta, wood-fired seafood and meats, as well as crisp Northern Italian pizzas, and family classics. Head chef Somaia Hammad brings her own touch from pickling and preserving, hand-rolling fresh pasta to baking Italian breads, her menu dishes is crafted with a nod to tradition, yet made unique. And, we sampled her caramelised fig salad with pistachio and aged parmigiano cheese; as well as a rich, seafood fregola with mussels and frutti di mare. It tasted just as beautiful as it looked!
Somaia grew up wandering Puglia’s markets and watching her Nonna work her magic in the kitchen. Those flavours, memories, and recipes passed down through generations are the soul of Nipotina’s menu and much like what we do at Team Pasta Grannies, we loved the idea of telling stories and shared traditions through the food on the plates, so we just had to go and check it out. She told us about her Nonna Lina’s ragu and ricotta tart which have both made it to the menu and she demonstrated how she makes the delicious caramelised fig salad, and fregola with frutti di mare that remain stand-outs on her menu. But before we did, we sat down and had a chat with her about her culinary influences, and her vision behind this beautiful setting for dining.
Highlights of our conversation can be found below:
Vicky: Thank you for having me and coming here. I’m looking forward to hearing more about your approach to cooking. Tell us a little bit more about the name of the restaurant and what your vision has been behind the place.
Somaia: Nipotina is because of my grandma, my Nonna Lina. I’m a granddaughter, and Nipotina means granddaughter in Italian. It’s about creating a feeling. We want people dining here to feel at home. You know that warmth you get when you go to your grandma’s for Sunday lunch? That’s the sort of feeling we want to give people. You leave full and you leave happy.
Vicky: That’s a good space to be in. We love hearing granny stories at Pasta Grannies. Tell us more about Nonna Lina.
Somaia: My grandma is originally from Puglia, from Candela near Foggia. She later moved to Turin. She looked after my mom and uncle, mostly cooking and keeping the family together, and she always hosted lunches on Sundays.
Vicky: So Sunday was the big gathering?
Somaia: Yes, in Italy, Sunday is when no one works, so we all gathered together at hers. Lunch would start at 12 and go until four or five. I remember I couldn’t even reach the kitchen counters, so I’d grab a jar, jump on it, and try to sneak some food from the pot—mostly ragù with a piece of bread. And that ragu is now on our menu here. She also made a lot of orecchiette, fresh pasta, and taralli, the typical products from Puglia region.
Vicky: And then your family moved from Puglia when you were small didn’t you?
Somaia: Yes, moved to Turin in Piedmont, which has a very different lifestyle and cuisine. But my grandma kept everything from Puglia in her cooking. She’d go to the market early in the morning to get fresh ingredients and cook for all of us.
Vicky: And how does she influence your cooking today?
Somaia: Mostly through the feeling. Sitting at the table with everyone, the happiness you get when you’re full. It’s not about fine dining—it’s handmade food that fills your soul. Even as a chef now, I still can’t replicate her exactly but I can try! I do have some of her recipes, but the taste is never the same. Cooking in a restaurant is very different. It’s faster-paced, and you can’t dedicate the same time you would cooking at home.
Vicky: What dish on your menu is most associated with your grandma?
Somaia: The Ragù. I actually stole the recipe from her. We serve it with the Mafalda pasta shape, you know the one with the frilly edges.
Vicky: So, tell us about that ragù.
Somaia: It includes three types of meat and is slow-cooked for eight hours. I start in the morning, and it’s ready by evening. We usually prepare 15 kg at a time.
Vicky: Does cooking a large quantity improve the flavour?
Somaia: It’s the slow cooking and the types of meat that really develop the flavour.
Vicky: Any secrets to the types of meat you use you can share with us?
Somaia: Kind of. [she laughs] For example, we don’t use pork mince, but we do use other parts of pork.
Vicky: Tell me, do you ever go to back to visit Puglia? And what’s the best thing about Pugliese food?
Somaia: The seafood. Straight from the sea—you just squeeze lemon and eat mussels, prawns, everything. Infact, the mussels on our dish in the fregola frutti di mare are inspired by that seaside feeling, but then we add a bisque, butter, to create this rich, elevated dish. It’s another dish my grandma used to make stuffed mussels. You open them, stuff them, close them again, and cook them in tomato sauce. But, in the style of blending regions, I serve it with fregola, a small pasta shape from Sardinia, it’s almost like a risotto.
Vicky: What other recipes on your menu are full of memories?
Somaia: We have a fig salad which is related to seasons. They’re black figs and only last one or two days if they’re good quality. If they’re mushy, they’re overripe and won’t last. Figs remind me of my childhood. We used to go camping in San Benedetto del Tronto. There were fig trees near our spot. I’d pick them in the morning.
Vicky: People who know figs well are wild boars in my neighbourhood—they eat them all!
Somaia: Exactly! So you have to get them quickly. Often we just eat them fresh but they work well in salad too and sometimes we cook them with lamb.
Vicky: Oooh I like the sound of that.. tell us how you combine lamb and figs?
Somaia: Yes. We marinate the lamb with mint to balance its strong flavour, then top it with balsamic and fig. It’s served with a cabbage and potato purée.
Vicky: That sounds delicious. So tell us, how did you become a chef?
Somaia: I always loved eating. My grandma and father inspired me, though he was initially against it. I studied hospitality in Italy for five years. I started working at 15 or 16, doing events and summer seasons in Venice and Turin. Then I moved to London at 21, not speaking English, and got my first chef job in Covent Garden. That’s where everything started.
Vicky: And now you have Nipotina. How long have you been open?
Somaia: Since November ’25. So, we opened during a chaotic season—just before Christmas. And the menu is very seasonally led. It’s seasonal. I have suppliers in Italy who go to the markets. For example, we currently have figs, Roman peppers, and Roman cauliflower.
Vicky: And, do you have a favourite dish on your menu?
Somaia: I think the Fregola with mussels. I have many favourites, but I only put dishes I love on the menu.
Vicky: What’s the most popular dish with your customers?
Somaia: The ragù. Or for dessert, our tiramisu is very popular. And, my Nonna Lina’s torta. It’s a ricotta cake served warm. That uses a mix from Turin and Sicily. We add lemon and double cream to smooth it out and prevent it from burning.
Vicky: It sounds delicious. Well, I think your nonna would be very proud of seeing what you’ve created. We can’t wait to taste these dishes later. And thank you so much for chatting to us.
Somaia: Thank you so much for coming in. It was lovely talking to you!
Nipotina restaurant can be found at 49 S Audley St, London W1K 2QD. You can find him and the team on instagram @nipotinaristorante.
