Fresh food, Italian style, in just a minute

The Square Mile is having a gingham tablecloth thrown over it with the opening of Coco di Mama. Flashes of red and white are in evidence up and down Fleet Street as workers carry the brand’s trademark bags to their offices for breakfast, lunch and all the bits in between. Buon Appetito!

Coco di Mama (a play on the Italian for ‘Mama’s boy’) combines the finest ingredients from Italy and closer to home with a little but of fun, offering a fresh alternative to humdrum high street sandwiches, soups and wraps.

Join us for lunch and enjoy a freshly prepared pasta dish with homemade sauce. We use the finest Al Bronzo pasta from the heart of Sicily – it has been slowly drawn through bronze dies to create the tiny ridges that our sauces cling to – and our recipes have been painstakingly compiled and feature only the very best ingredients.

Choose from a variety of pasta shapes with classic sauces such as slow-cooked Bolognese with juicy pancetta, rich Portobello Mushroom or fiery Arrabiatta. Set to cause a real stir though are Coco di Mama’s less familiar choices including a decadent Blue Cheese Carbonara, a smoky pepper and Kalamata olive and a playful Bloody Mary with a splash of vodka. Daily-changing sauce-free ‘naked’ dishes, where the flavour of the pasta speaks for itself, are complemented with fresh herbs, spices, extra virgin olive oil and a choice of seafood, meat or vegetables.

All our pasta dishes cost between £3.70 and £4.90 and are freshly prepared in less than a minute; perfect for lunch- on-the-run, picnics in the City’s green eating spaces or just some time out from the office in the unique, contemporary 20-seat venue.

Coco di Mama may be kick-starting a pasta revolution in the Square Mile, but diners have been equally delighted by its range of freshly prepared lasagnes, artisan baguettes, inspired salads and decadent dessert pots.

Lasagnes are painstakingly layered by hand every morning and individually baked at lunchtime with flavours ranging from a classic beef and tomato to the more original courgette and Parmesan or mushroom and pesto. Baguettes are stone-baked daily and filled with delicious ingredients including Taleggio cheese, salami Napoli, Prosciutto and perfectly chargrilled vegetables. Salads fulfil more than just a supporting role with choices that includes Italian charcuterie, crumbled goat’s cheese and butternut squash and the ever-popular tricolore. Soups are either rich and hearty or simple and flavoursome, with choices such as farmhouse chicken and Tuscan vegetable or Portobello wild mushroom amongst others.

For a touch of Italian indulgence, a selection of dessert pots and cakes are the perfect sweet treat to accompany an espresso. Enjoy a Sicilian lemon cheese cake with zesty lemon curd on a crumbly base of ginger nuts, hazelnuts and flaked almonds; apricot zabaglione pot with fruity apricot compote topped with a deliciously light zabaglione cream; a very cherry brandy trifle with a cherry on top (of course!); or an unbelievably intense Valhrona chocolate pot.

Italy would not be Italy without its love of great coffee and at Coco Di Mama we are fanatical about the bean. We serve our own unique espresso blend – full-bodied and intense – created for us by the award-winning independent East London roasters, Climpson & Sons. Whether you like it straight or milky, our coffee perfectly complements our delicious breakfast dishes featuring delights such as oven-crisped pancetta rolls with spicy ketchup, stone-baked pastries and fabulously fresh fruit pots and yoghurts.

Leading interior designer Afroditi Krassa (Itsu, Dishoom) has created a distinct and striking look for the brand. Combing the classic with the modern by playing with stereotypical trattoria elements such as the trademark gingham, wooden fencing and mosaic flooring. The result is a re-imagined version of the Italian classic, without a Chianti bottle in sight!

Coco di Mama – a fresh approach to Italian food – mama would be proud!

Coco di Mama, 90 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1DH

www.cocodimama.co.uk