It’s Friday night in the city and as far as you’re concerned this week can go straight in the bin. You need your friends, a glass of red, a big plate of fresh-made pasta and a healthy debriefing session. You need a night at Borsa. 

If you’re looking for the quiet chinking of cutlery and polite conversation, keep walking. This place is fast and noisy. 

Start with a serve of pickled vegetables and prosciutto from the antipasto list, up in the corner of a slightly messy one-page menu. The prosciutto is soft, subtle and sliced so thin you could read a newspaper through it – perfect for wrapping around the veg and eating with slices of fluffy bread. 

But as you can’t help miss when you walk in past trays of perfect little ravioli parcels and ribbons of fettuccine hanging over rods above the open kitchen, people come to Borsa for the pasta. The menu features a mix of dry durum and semolina wheat pasta shipped in from Abruzzi and over half a dozen different styles made fresh in house. 

The spaghetti con vongole is simple and tasty. Fresh herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and cockles from Coffin Bay. The fresh tagliatelli with pork sausage, basil and chilli is delicate, delicious and to die for.

So too is the dessert special, a silky hazelnut and chocolate mousse that is topped with cream and pieces of crushed nuts. Friday night, done right.