Fifteen years of Trullo: How London’s favourite neighbourhood restaurant built a lasting legacy

This June, Trullo is turning 15, a major milestone for an independent restaurant.

When Tim Siadatan and Jordan Frieda opened Trullo back in 2010, they weren’t chasing awards or headlines, they just wanted to create a restaurant that would appeal to the community of Islington.

Chef-owner Conor Gadd, who joined Trullo not long after it opened, now leads the team. Under his watch, Trullo has stayed true to its roots.

The menu changes daily depending on what’s good, but certain things are a given. Fresh pasta, rolled out each morning, always features heavily, bowls of silky tagliarini, hearty beef shin pappardelle, or delicate ravioli.

Tim said: "You don’t cook for yourself or for the chefs; you cook for the people who put bums on seats and pay the bill at the end of the day. There’s very little ego at Trullo. It's always been about the restaurant and the guest experience, not about individual names or accolades."

Trullo is dedicated to staying true to its identity, Conor added: “We know who we are. We don’t chase trends. We don't deviate into something else because it’s fashionable. Even early on when we were tempted to, we learned quickly — just stick to what you're good at. Now people come back because they know what they’re going to get: not the same dishes, but the same style made with the same heart."

"Creating a space for people to have their happy time is a real joy. We knew the community, we believed in it even when people told us not to open in Islington. Now, 15 years later, Arsenal match days are some of the best days to be there — it’s such a huge part of the local community."

The key to Trullo’s longevity comes down to its customers, Tim added: “The secret is simple: the people.

“The people who work there now, the people who came before, the foundations we built with me, Jordan, Conor — first and foremost as mates. That joy filters down. You can't fake it. You can’t make a restaurant last 15 years if it’s just a business — it’s got to be a passion, a way of life.

"We've always treated it as something we love doing. Being paid to do something you love is a real privilege. That energy rubs off on the people who come and work with us — and so many stay a long time, which isn’t always the case in hospitality. It’s the staff who’ve carried the baton and made Trullo what it is. They are the reason we are still here."

Conor also shared a time when the papardelle was needed urgently to satisfy a hungry customer, he added: "The beef shin pappardelle is our signature dish, It’s been there since June 1st, 2010, and it'll still be there June 1st, 2025. And probably 2040 if we’re lucky.

"We've tried to take it off a few times, once, I had a pregnant woman come in on her due date just for the pappardelle. It wasn’t on the menu that night, and she came up to the pass in floods of tears.
“Luckily, we had some tucked away, we cooked it for her — and she actually went into labour that night. It’s those moments, the memories people associate with the food that mean everything. That’s why Trullo isn't just a restaurant. It’s a part of people's lives."

Written by Abi Kinsella