Tomato, garlic and chilli, and a name that means "angry": penne arrabbiata is one of the simplest pasta dishes in Italy, and one of the most loved. It's 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 where the sauce comes from, why the pasta is shaped like a pen, and how we serve ours.
Why is it angry?
Arrabbiata literally means "angry" in Italian. The sauce comes from Lazio, and particularly from Rome, and the name makes most sense in the city's own dialect, Romanesco, where arabbiato describes something pushed to excess, in this case spiciness. In Rome, any food cooked in a pan with plenty of oil, garlic and peperoncino, the Italian dried chilli, so that it leaves you very thirsty, can be called arrabbiato: there are broccoli arrabbiati, too.
The traditional sauce is made with tomatoes, garlic, peperoncino, parsley and extra virgin olive oil. It's a fairly young dish by Italian standards, dating from the 1950s and 1960s, when spicy food was in fashion in Roman cooking. It has even had film roles, in Federico Fellini's Roma (1972) and Marco Ferreri's La Grande Bouffe (1973). Background from Wikipedia's arrabbiata sauce page.
Penne: pasta shaped like a pen
Penne is the plural of penna, Italian for "feather" or "pen", from the Latin word for a quill, and it's a cousin of the English word "pen". The tubes are cut at an angle to imitate the steel nib of an old fountain or dip pen. Unusually for a pasta shape, penne have a known birthday: in 1865, Giovanni Battista Capurro, a pasta maker from San Martino d'Albaro near Genoa, patented a machine that cut fresh pasta diagonally without crushing it.
In Italy you'll find two main kinds, smooth penne lisce and ridged penne rigate. The hollow tube is good at holding sauces such as pesto, marinara and, of course, arrabbiata. More on Wikipedia's penne page.
Our penne arrabbiata
On our main menu, the Penne arrabbiata is penne in tomato sauce with chilli and garlic. It's vegetarian and vegan, and it's served from midday until close every day. Gluten-free penne is available for all of our pasta dishes, so it can be made gluten free on request; our post on gluten-free pasta and pizza has more.
It's the vegan pasta on our menu, so it's a good one to know if you're eating plant-based. Our vegetarian and vegan guide lists the other options, from the Bruschetta to the sorbets.
Nasipa summed up the kitchen: The food was tasty, fresh, and really well prepared.
(Nasipa E., Google review) And John, just back from Naples, wrote that the food wasn’t far off from the real deal
(John M., Google review).
More heat, or less
If you like a kick, there's plenty more on the menu. The Diavola pepperoni pizza has tomato, mozzarella, pepperoni and spicy nduja, the Arancini nduja come with a rich pink sauce, and the Linguine frutti di mare has chilli and garlic with a mix of seafood. Our post on spicy Italian food rounds them all up. Prefer something gentler? Start with the Bruschetta, marinated plum tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic, or the Padron peppers with flaked sea salt, both vegan too.
What to drink with it
Chilli and tomato like a juicy, soft red. From our drinks menu, the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is a classic medium-bodied red with plum and red berries and soft tannins, and the Cara Amica Sangiovese brings cherry, red berries and a hint of spice. For a white, the crisp Pinot Grigio keeps things fresh, or there's Moretti on draught. Our guide to the wine list has more.
“All top level service, food, interior very classy”
Don, 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.
Tomato, garlic and a little anger, from midday. Book a table or walk in at 4 Medway Court, Judd Street.