Antico

At Antico, part of the pleasure of choosing pasta is that the noodle changes to suit the sauce. One diner who visited for lunch mentioned ordering mushroom lasagna, squid-ink spaghetti and trippa arrabbiata, and found that the pasta and sauces clung together well. The dishes range from lasagna made with short pasta to squid ink and a spicy tomato sauce, each with its own character. It is tempting to choose a sauce first and see where it leads.

The menu also lists carbonara, noted as being made without cream, spaghetti with prawns and broccoli in tomato cream sauce, and octopus puttanesca with olives, capers and anchovies. For something lighter, there is spaghetti with whitebait and Italian bottarga, or with sardines and pine nuts in an oil-based sauce. Two diners who visited for lunch on separate occasions chose pesto and whitebait-and-bottarga pasta; they recalled that the antipasti also felt carefully prepared and that the meal made them want to order wine.

Lunch options include a choice of pasta or pizza, with bread, salad and coffee among the listed accompaniments for pasta. There is also a course that lets diners choose one antipasto, and the selection ranges from cold and warm starters to meat and fish dishes. For dinner, an antipasti platter or prosciutto with burrata could be shared over a glass of wine.

This Italian restaurant is in Akonomiyacho, Ichijoji, and serves lunch and dinner. Reservations are recommended for both, so it may be worth getting in touch once your group size is settled.