Last week I had a fantastic lunch at Spianata & Co. The Roman bakery and paninoteca has been in London for a number of years, but I’m just now getting wise to its tasty range of freshly made sandwiches, pizza rossa and more.
Also known as pizza bianca romana, spianata is a long flat bread baked at the rounded sides of traditional wood fired oven to take economic advantage of marginal space that would otherwise go unused. The result is a thin and crisp bread that’s idea for sandwiches.
During my visit to the Spitalfields outlet of Spianata & Co, I very much enjoyed a toasted Gorgonzola sandwich with speck and pears (£4.95), and I wouldn’t be averse to having one again. I had a bite of a proscuitto e carciofini sandwich that I thought was really tasty. There were plenty of other sarnies from which to choose with a decent selection of seasonal and vegetarian options, and deciding was rather tough to be honest.
Not just a sandwich bar though, Spianata & Co serves plenty of other dishes as well. I can vouch for basic yet yummy pizza rossa. The lasagne’s good too. The eatery offers a range of pastas, salads, hot dishes, desserts (great homemade tiramisu), coffee (proper Italian espresso style) and Italian sodas. I had a can of San Pellegrino’s Chino with my lunch.
Spianata & Co has six outlets in London – five in and around the City and one in Mayfair. Word is from folks behind the counter you can expect to see many more of them opening up soon. Based on my recent lunch, I reckon that’s not a bad thing at all.
The Spitalfields location is inside Old Spitalfield’s Market at 41 Brushfield Street, E1 6AA. Find out more at spianata.com.
