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The ViewLondon Review
Canary Wharf isn’t the kind of place that you visit specifically for lunch unless you (a) have a suit fetish, (b) think the DLR is the most exciting form of passenger transport yet conceived or (c) have a relative that works there.
Seeing as about 60,000 people work at Canary Wharf there’s quite a good chance that (c) applies to you.
It applies to me anyway, which is why I found myself there on a Thursday lunchtime armed with a copy of the FT (a cunning disguise to draw attention away from my rather casual outfit of jeans and trainers) and a recommendation to visit Carluccio’s Caffé.
As you almost certainly know already, Signor Carluccio is the rather well-covered gentleman who has graced the small screen many-a-time, usually singing the praises of wild mushrooms and Ligurian olive oil. He is also famous for his Neal Street restaurant, and more recently his chain of caffes.
The caffes are an original concept combining modern Italian food, coffees, and a range of deli style products available from the shop. Definitely appealing to the upwardly mobile style conscious eater, it’s no surprise that Canary Wharf featured on their business plan.
As a result of all this, it gets pretty rammed at lunchtime. Abi and I waited about 15 minutes for a table, but we weren’t the only ones, and if you take popularity as a gauge for quality then you’ll certainly be expecting something pretty special.
The menu covers antipasti, soups, salads, pasta dishes and some more hearty mains. With only about 40 minutes to spare, I opted for chargrilled tuna, which arrived with a tomato and olive sauce and sautéed spinach. It was a fine choice, big on flavour, colourful and fresh.
Abi’s smaller appetite partly dictated her choice of deep fried smoked mozzarella, which sat on a salad of rocket and tiny gem lettuce. The mozzarella wasn’t too strong, and the delicate smoked flavour provided plenty of interest in a dish that can sometimes be found wanting.
With a bottle of cold Frascati the whole lot came to just shy of £30, and in my opinion was certainly worth it. Similar in style to the River Café, but about £100 cheaper…