Spianata & Co

They use illy coffee beans. Decent espresso.

Great spot to pick up a sandwich for a quick lunch. Not the best place to stay and eat (basic décor, full of suits), so take it with you to wander round the market or go sit outside if the weather’s good. (Or do what I used to: go eat at your desk while playing Scrabble on Facebook.)
The sandwiches are all without exception delicious. I recommend the goat’s cheese, the artichoke, anything with Italian ham in it.
I’m still undecided whether having it toasted is worth the extra 20p. Maybe with ones that have cheese in that will melt!

If you’ve ever been to a bakery in the South of Italy you will have seen Spianata (Pizza Bianca Romana) being cooked in batches of unimaginable size. This bread comes out of the oven over 6 foot long and loaf after another it is snapped up. It’s an oil based bread sprinkled with salt and it’s absolutely delicious.
Spianata & Co are bringing this traditional Italian style to London and offer freshly filled sandwiches made with the stuff. All the fillings sounded amazing to me but I stuck with the classic tomato and mozzarella just to keep things authentic. After standing in a very long queue twice (the first time we were told we wouldn’t pay with card so had to make a dash to the nearest cash point) I couldn’t help but find the service a bit rude and abrupt. The sandwiches themselves were lovely but pricey and the way they were dumped on the table felt a bit too much like McDonald’s for my liking.
Clearly Spianata & Co have a good product but this shop needed more staff who were better trained. I’ll probably give it another chance in the future but it won’t be my first port of call.