Spianata&Co opens in Mayfair

Rome’s most popular lunchtime choice, the Spianata sandwich, has arrived in London’s Mayfair. An essential part of Roman life, and made with the traditional flat bread Spianata, or to give it its local name, pizza bianca romana, you will now find it at Spianata&co, the independent Roman bakery & paninoteca, whose flagship store has just opened at 3 Hay Hill, Berkeley Square, London W1.

Set up by Stefano Nicolai, an Italian working in London in investment banking, but whose tastebuds had remained with the Master bakers of Rome where he grew up, Spianata&co says ciao! to the sorry sandwich by offering a truly different, delicious range of Spianatas, made with its own-baked bread, and filled with far from ordinary ingredients.

‘At lunchtime, I was biting into these plasticky, tasteless sandwiches, with ordinary fillings and too much mayonnaise, always too cold to enjoy, and I was dreaming of the Spianata filled bread I used to eat in Rome’  says Stefano Nicolai, who knew he could do better. Calling on his  entrepreneurial ambition of running his own business, he gave up the day job, went back to Rome for a time and learnt the art of baking directly from the masters, in their shops, hidden in narrow, cobbled streets. Today, Londoners too can enjoy a taste of Roman life.

The Spianata Bread

Baked flat, typically about two metres long and 30 cm wide, Spianata bread is prepared from scratch every morning using the finest strong white flour. The in-house bakers gently knead, fold, prod and roll the dough until the texture has reached perfection. Only then do they bake it. Low in fat and rich in flavour, handmade, stone-baked, this Roman bread is light, incredibly fragrant, airy and crisp in texture with a distinctive golden crust.

Whilst conventional bakeries will have finished baking at around 7am, Spianata&co continues to bake until mid-morning to ensure the utmost freshness when the Spianata sandwich, made as soon as the bread is cooled, reaches the shop, first for breakfast, then again for lunch. These traditional methods provide good, nutritious food in today’s fast paced urban living.

The Spianata Sandwich

Spianata bread is filled with typically Italian quality ingredients, such as freshly sliced cured meats, never pre-sliced, sunblush tomatoes, artichokes hearts and regional cheeses. In Rome, the most popular filing among the locals is the fragrant and authentic cured meat Mortadella di Bologna. The two ingredients seem to complement each other perfectly and form one of Rome’s veritable classic lunches ‘on the go’. It’s not unusual to hear the Romans say ‘E’ la morte sua!’ implying that the only place for mortadella to end up, is inside a freshly baked pizza bianca romana.  The aficionados will find this original sandwich at £3.45.

Classic combinations are classic for a reason. Often the balance of just two or three carefully combined ingredients is sufficient to create culinary perfection, such as the Speck, Pears and Gorgonzola Spianata sandwich which it’s becoming the talk of the town. The intense aroma of the cured meat blends with the pleasant sharpness of the blue cheese, whilst high quality preserved pears bring all the flavours together. This sells at £4.55.

Showing every day that there is life beyond ham and cheese, Spianata&co aims to educate its customers to discover new flavours with its monthly specials. There is also a range of multi-seed Spianata sandwiches for an even healthier choice, and Pizza rossa romana, as also found in Rome. This arrives in the shop just before lunchtime, straight from the bakery so it’s extra fresh and fragrant. Made from the last dough, it is slightly thinner and it’s simply brushed with tomato sauce and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

Spianata sandwiches are displayed at room temperature only, as you would find in Italy, never in a refrigerated unit. Fridge-cold sandwiches are far less tasty, therefore far less enjoyable and more difficult to digest. If anything, Spianata sandwiches can be gently warmed up in store, to recapture that just-baked taste and the crispiness of the bread of a few hours earlier.

When the Spianata bread is cut into sandwiches, the perfectly good, fresh  end cuts are offered free of charge to guests, with complimentary oil, or to enjoy with the hand-made soup and pasta also available from the store, along with home-made desserts, in-house baked ciambellotto, a typical Italian cake ‘with a hole’,  top quality coffee and typically Italian drinks.                                    

The Mayfair Shop

Sleek, modern and elegant, the shop has been designed by Italian architects who have used bespoke materials to create a distinctly different look. The cold-lit shelves where the food is displayed at room temperature are made of Corian, a ceramic-like material, whilst the counter is made of Corten, Similar to metal, this material is often used in fitting out upmarket boutiques and becomes more beautiful and precious as it ages.  The stylish interior also features wooden floors and focus lighting to offset the horizontal, enamelled wood panels, in graded shades which evoke the Italian colours. With large, bright windows, Spianata&co  provides seating for 30 people.

For more information, visit spianata.com.