O’Pasta has opened its doors in Dorchester, replacing a wine bar in Brewery Square.
Starting their own pasta venture has been a long term dream of brother and sister duo Baris Basbaydar and Asli Tandogan.
The pair grew up in Instanbul, Turkey, surrounded by the tantalising smell of street food and after spending time in Italy, Baris realised pasta was his passion – and he wanted to do it well.
He quickly learned how to make fettucine pasta and that the secret is ‘to keep it really simple’.
Baris said: “We’re not an Italian restaurant, what we’re offering is traditional Italian street food. We’re a mixture of a takeaway and a restaurant.
“I wanted to focus on pasta, I love pasta and I’m a pasta person – everything we make is handmade and fresh.
“My friend had a business in Istanbul and he taught me how to make fettucine pasta.
“After that I wanted to try England and when I saw this place I said ‘this is really good for what we want to do.’
“This business is something different. Everything is really fresh and I wanted to keep it simple.”
Baris used to work at the Meram Kitchen Turkish restaurant, which started in Christchurch before opening a second branch at the old Drgnfly premises in Brewery Square last December.
He said he was inspired by his friends’ work rate and expertise in their field, and wanted to emulate it with a different kind of cuisine.
Baris said the closest experience that Dorset residents may have already tried is the popular handmade fettucine on offer at Camden Market.
He said: “I knew the guys at Meram Kitchen for 16 years and worked there for seven or eight months.
“I’ve been planning this for about four years and looking for the right place for my own business.”
Inside O’Pasta(Image: NQ)
O’Pasta offers a scaled down menu of a choice of three starters – caprese skewers, bruschetta or mini raclette pan.
The main courses are raclette cheese with ciabatta or fettucine alfredo with a regular fixed price of £11, a larger option, and a choice of toppings as add on extras.
There’s one choice for desserts – a homemade tiramisu Baris is exceptionally proud of.
An array of Italian wines are on offer from The Wine Expert while there is a choice of beers as an alternative.
The open kitchen at O’Pasta(Image: NQ)
Baris and Asli had an open kitchen installed in the restaurant because they wanted people to be able to walk past and see pasta being made, whilst diners can relax and see their meals being put together.
Few changes have been made to the interior of the Pope Street premises since it was the Pursuit of Poppiness wine bar, but the O’Pasta co-owners have prioritised comfy seating, low lighting and relaxing, soft music. Live music will be offered on a Friday evening.
On opening day, September 13, staff at O’Pasta gave out free samples and were overwhelmed by the positive feedback.
“We were so pleased to see that people were really excited to try the food and interested to see something new here,” Baris said.
“People have been saying the same thing, that they love it and it’s really good to see something simple.
“It was important for us to keep the prices as low as possible. I want everyone to be able to come and try the pasta, when they try it, they tell me they love it.
“It’s all worth the long hours of running your own business when you see the happiness on people’s faces.”
Dining and Cooking