Pret A Pasta

But when we visited Coco di Mama, which opened on Fleet Street five weeks ago, they were shifting buckets of the stuff. Literally.

The Sicilian pasta comes in smallish or large tubs, you see, with your choice of "homemade" sauce, parmesan and olive or chilli oil stirred in. We had fusilli carbonara and penne with slow-cooked bolognese, with all the extras, plus Portobello mushroom penne without. The carbonara was the standout, its salty hamminess augmented by the bold use of blue cheese, but the fungitarian option had a pleasingly subtle creaminess.

The beef in the bolognese wasn't overwhelmed by tomato and had a deep flavour: I'd have liked it spicier, but in a takeaway it's probably wise to err on the side of caution. Next time I'll try the arrabiata or the Bloody Mary, made with vodka. The pasta itself was just on the soft side of al dente (caution again) but retained the same integrity of "bite" right to the bottom. There's an attractive selection of veggie options and a daily sauce-free "nude" version.

This place is the brainchild of twentysomethings Jeremy Saunders and Daniel Land, childhood friends who already have lucrative City careers behind them, and are therefore too smart to bank on just pasta. So there are also small and large boxed salads offered as sides or mains: we had a Baby Caprese with clean, creamy mozzarella and a nice belt of basil to it, and an acceptable Rocket with Gran Padano. Of the "artisan" baguettes, I can vouch for the Taleggio with richly flavoursome tomatoes and roasted pine nuts.

A daily changing lasagne and soup, small but naughty puddings (lemon cheesecake, fine; apricot zabaglione, airy and inspired) and a good selection of light breakfasts and fresh juices show that this place plans to take a bite out of the takings of nearby Pret and Leon. Certainly Coco's much-touted Climpson and Son coffee is excellent - bitter, dark and pungent. I suspect the visibly hardworking and manically hospitable owners are mainlining it.

The 20-seat room itself is horrible, a glaring wipe-clean environment redolent of an airport concession. Best to take away a tub and find a City park or Wren churchyard to perch in.

Coco di Mama
90 Fleet Street, EC4Y