A one-man band serving fresh authentic Italian street food on a Welsh beach has quietly gained a cult following for cannoli by the sea. Pasta a Mano dishes out freshly-made pasta and some of the best cannoli this side of Sicily – all from an unassuming black trailer parked up next to the yacht club at Newport in Pembrokeshire.
It's not just pasta they come for, admitted owner Derw Robertson-Jacobs, as customers have started coming for the coffee too – in part because they've invested in a proper espresso machine for the 2022 summer season. The coffee is Welsh though and is sourced from Hardlines roastery in Cardiff. You can get more foodie news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Pasta a Mano doesn't try to be fancy but rather serves up a small selection of delicious Italian food with local sustainability firmly at the fore. A business borne on the back of a work trip at Osteria Fratelli Pavesi in Piacenza, Derw started out offering fresh pasta kits to cook at home during lockdown in 2020.
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They went down a storm and then the trailer was presented to him as a gift from a close friend with Italian heritage. Together with a small team of "dedicated foodies" they've not looked back since. After two successful seasons trading in Pembrokeshire they've set up stall on the Parrog. If the food isn't enough to entice people down off the Preseli Hills and Newport beach the views alone are certainly worthy enough.
At midday in peak summer, and during a heatwave, Newport certainly feels more like Italy than west Wales – especially down on the Parrog where children play on the black sand and boats slip lazily past on the estuary and out to sea. The distinctive shape of Dinas Island lends a protective arm around this small slice of paradise. "It's a beautiful place to work," agreed Derw, 32. It's another reason why the trained chef – who had a spell at Jamie's restaurant in Bristol – prefers the street food scene over a formal restaurant one.
But the real draw is undoubtedly the food. The cacio e pepe – macaroni with pecorino, black pepper, and breadcrumbs – might be a simple classic but it certainly delivers on taste while the pesto Preseli, a nod to the brooding hills which rise up over Newport, is also a popular choice. The basil is even grown on the Preselis said Derw while the cheese is a Welsh sheep's cheese called Dolwerdd.
The day's special for Friday when we visited was crab linguine. The crab is fresh off the boats that fish out of the Parrog, announced Derw, and it comes with a garnish of marsh samphire plucked from the surrounding estuary.
Minutes later he brings out his freshly-baked sourdough focaccia which looks pillowy soft and is served in big hefty wedges while the cannoli – described by one avid fan as "some of the best cannoli I’ve ever eaten" – is a novel accompaniment to coffee. You'll be hard pressed to find more fantastic food in such a beautiful location.
"People are genuinely really surprised," said Derw about the success of his street food. "They don't really expect it. Pasta has been given a bad name in the UK and not a lot of people have had real fresh pasta." His approach to food – heavily influenced by his experiences in Italy and the country's ethos of using what's locally abundant – is "simple and honest", he explained.
"There's a good network of small producers in west Wales," he added. "In the city you don't have that same connection."
After the summer season, Derw will head back to Italy for a spell in another Italian restaurant to hone his skills and learn new ones – plus you might spot Pasta a Mano at the odd pop-up event in Cardiff. But come the summer Derw and his trailer will be back where it belongs serving cannoli by the sea with perhaps one of the finest views in the country. Find out more about Pasta a Mano's opening times on their website.
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