Some of Italy's best-loved pasta dishes come from the coast, and few are as simple, or as easy to get wrong, as pasta with clams. Linguine vongole is on the main menu at Fiena, our family-run Italian cafe, bar and restaurant at 4 Medway Court, Judd Street, London WC1H 9QX, a few minutes' walk from King's Cross St Pancras. Here's what the dish is, where it comes from, and how we make ours.
What does vongole mean?
Vongole is simply Italian for clams, so spaghetti alle vongole means "spaghetti with clams". The dish comes from the coastal regions of Italy, particularly the south. Two kinds of clam are traditionally used: the carpet-shell clam, or palourde, known in Italian as vongole veraci, and the small Mediterranean wedge shell, sometimes called the "bean clam". In Liguria and Tuscany both are also known as arselle.
In bianco or in rosso
Italians make the dish two ways. In bianco ("white") is just olive oil, plenty of garlic, parsley and sometimes a splash of white wine. In rosso ("red") is the same, with tomatoes and fresh basil added, and the tomato version is more common in the south. Either way, the method is quick: the clams go into hot olive oil and garlic, and as they open they release their own liquid, which becomes the main flavour of the sauce.
What you won't usually find in Italy is cream or cheese. Some Italian-American recipes add one or the other, but in Italy both are seen as overpowering the clams and the olive oil. Wikipedia's spaghetti alle vongole page has more.
Our linguine vongole
We make ours with linguine, the flat, narrow pasta that holds a light sauce well. On our main menu, the Linguine vongole is clams, baby prawns, garlic, cherry tomatoes and bisque, so it sits closer to the in rosso style, with the prawns and a seafood bisque adding depth. It's served from midday until close every day.
If you'd like even more seafood, the Linguine frutti di mare ("fruits of the sea") brings a mix of seafood in tomato sauce and bisque, with chilli and garlic. And if you need to avoid gluten, gluten-free penne is available for all of our pasta dishes; our post on gluten-free pasta and pizza has more.
Our guests rate the seafood pasta. M. had the seafood linguine with a group of four: My pasta was great the fish was cooked perfectly.
(M. S., Google review) Yasmeen called the seafood pasta one of the best pasta dishes ive ever had
(Yasmeen H., Google review).
Start with more from the sea
If you're in a seafood mood, there's plenty to share before the pasta. From the starters: Mussels with capers, anchovies, olives, garlic, white wine and tomato sauce, served with toasted bread; Capesante, pan-fried scallops in a lemon butter sauce; Tiger prawns cooked with garlic, cherry tomato and white wine; and the Marinated seafood, dressed in olive oil, lemon juice and mixed herbs. Our post on risotto and the seafood table covers the rest.
A white wine to go with it
Clams want a crisp, dry white. From our drinks menu: the Gavi di Gavi is bone dry, with white blossom, lemon and green apple; the Albariño from Galicia brings lime and green apple; and from Italy there's a crisp Pinot Grigio, the Vitis Nostra Grillo with citrus and green apple, and the Ca Del Lago Inzolia, bright and fresh. Our guide to the wine list has more.
“Super fresh and tasty”
Phoebe, Google review, 2026
Good to know
- When: the main menu runs from midday until close, 22:00 Monday to Saturday and 21:00 on Sunday.
- Booking: tables for up to eight can be booked online, and walk-ins are welcome whenever we have space.
- Allergies: information on the 14 major allergens is available on request. Please speak to your server before you order.
- Address: 4 Medway Court, Judd St, London WC1H 9QX. Phone 020 4618 6314.
Garlic, olive oil and clams, from midday. Book a table or walk in at 4 Medway Court, Judd Street.