Moorgate’s Caterina 55 are probably the only people in the City of London to be focused almost entirely on Ligurian food and most definitely are the only people to be focused on Ligurian FAST food (not something I could have conceived of existing until I went down and saw it for myself). Based right next to The Barbican Estate, on the ground floor of The Heron (which, incidentally has an £18 million penthouse sweet on it ) it’s about 70% coffee shop, 30% restaurant, and offers up a small but well chosen selection of ‘fast food’ that probably costs more and has better ingredients than the kind of fast food you’re used to. they also serve a bloody good Chianti. Is that a fast food outlet that serves Italian wine, I hear you ask? Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh buddy!
Of particular interest is their ‘Ligurian Burger’ – I’ve never had a burger with pesto in it before and I’m not sure why this isn’t a more popular thing. I spent some time with Caterina 55’s manager, Simone, a well dressed Italian man who told me the whole backstory to the company and how they decided to try and bring the food of Liguria (North West Italy) to the UK. I am told that Caterina is the name of the woman behind the business, and also the name of said woman’s grandmother – who started the whole business with her restaurant back in the ‘old country’ many decades ago.
They’re thinking about expansion and although the odds are stacked against pretty much everybody new in the fast food market, it’d be cool to see a few more of them popping up in unexpected places…