SPORTS DIRECT AND TO THE POINT

24 LIFE&STYLE WEDNESDAY 8 JUNE 2016
CITYAM.COM
FOOD&DRINK
L’ANIMA
1 SNOWDEN STREET,
BROADGATE WEST, EC2A 2DQ
WHAT? A high-end Italian restaurant
and bar nestled behind Liverpool
Street Station. L’Anima means “soul” in
Italian and the aim here is to provide a
glimpse into the very soul of southern
Italian cuisine, featuring modern takes
on hearty classics. The spring menu
revolves around fresh, zesty
ingredients like artichoke slaw with
cured fish roe, and asparagus with egg
and guanciale. There’s also a L’Anima
Cafe and Deli located next-door,
serving more relaxed food to eat in or
take out. The spring menu is available
now for £35 for two courses or £40 for
three courses, including two glasses of
wine.
APPEARANCE: Located across the
bottom of a modern office
development, L’Anima is certainly
bright, with floor to ceiling windows on
two sides providing plenty of
opportunity to watch the suits walk by.
As is often the case with modern
developments, L’Anima struggles a
little to bring the space to life, and the
white furniture and pale floor gives it a
vague hint of the airport departure
lounge. It is, however, bustling at lunch,
which helps to breathe some character
into it. There’s also a bar that looks like
it’s just been beamed from the 1980s, a
totem of black stone that glows
negatively against the stark white
room.
TRY THIS: The beetroot tortellini with
smoked burrata is the stuff of dreams,
as is the baked cod in a saffron seafood
guazzetto.
WHO? Sardinian chef Antonio Favuzzi
heads up the kitchen. He’s a graduate
of Alan Yau’s Anda in Marylebone,
Franco’s on Jermyn Street, The
Wolseley and Corbin & King restaurant
St Alban. It’s been open since 2009 and
it’s Californian property developer
Peter Marano’s debut restaurant.
BUSINESS OR PLEASURE? Being a
skip, hop and a jump from
Bishopsgate, L’Anima is made with the
WORKING
LUNCH
Steve Dinneen on
the best places to
eat during office
hours in the City and
Canary Wharf
working man and woman in mind. The
spacious dining room allows for
meetings that won’t be overheard by
the people at the next table and the
dishes are light enough to allow you to
get some work done afterwards – as
long as you don’t delve too deep into
the impressive wine menu. You won’t
be turned away for rocking up in jeans
and trainers but you’ll be in the
minority. L’Anima feels like the kind of
place where things get done.
NEED TO BOOK? Yes, if you want a
table between 12-2pm. Go to
lanima.co.uk, email
reservations@lanima.co.uk or call 020
7422 7000.
THE VERDICT: Great food in
professional surroundings; this place
has “working lunch” written all over it.
ONE MORE THING: You can organise
cookery masterclasses with chef
Antonio Favuzzi, where he will teach
you how to prepare anything from
Mottra Sterlet caviar to pan di spagna
(sponge cake); prices from £120 per
person.