"steady. carluccio in smithfield is like a back-up, a reasonable alternative for me when I close to smithfield or comptoir gascon and they are full for a woken breakfast / brunch. this is a quite common hesitation, as sos cg slide the scale higher and are more desirable due to the trendy, more prosperous masses that are more frequent this part of the city. but we should not think less of the local carluccio. it has been shown to Italian cafe food of a steady quality. yes, the deli items in front of the shop are overpriced, but there is a focus on regional specialities, and it is a convenient holding point for mozzarella, ricotta, parma ham, dried porcini, risotto rice, tinted fish and saffron if they cannot find it elsewhere. the inner of this branch is light and airy, with high ceilings and a very relaxed feeling, making it ideal for a long brunch with friends and some wash papers. Coffee and baked are decent, the full breakfast is not bad for £8.50 that contains coffee juice, plus it grilled pancetta instead of fat speck. nice! it is also one of the rare places in london that makes bicerin. there are no pizzas here, but the pasta is again decent. I like the ricotta spinat ravioli served simply in sage butter. pasta here is actually cooked to al dente. I also like their thick, peasy pasta e fagioli (pasta beane) but not so sharp on their meek-watery mushroom soup. the menu changes with the season and there are daily specialties that are for a chain, is nice to see."
