Cotto

Cotto is one of those places I'd walked / bussed / cycled by a zillion times and paid no attention to, set at the intersection of roads leading from Kennington, E&C and Waterloo and right opposite Lambeth North tube station.

Inside it's a cosy, very authentic Italian family restaurant with a great menu, lots of good vegetarian options, a whole gluten free section (unheard of in this sort of place!), super friendly staff (a real Italian family!), very reasonably pricing and the most outrageously impressive desserts I've seen in a long time. The tiramisu looks like it's straight out of a posh cookery book - beautiful to look at and oozing with booze - it's a shame my pasta filled me up to much to give it a try!

Still, that's what second visits are for...

So I was on the hunt for homemade wheat free/gluten free pizza and came across Cotto. It's not far from my place on the train so we headed out there for dinner.

We were greeted by the owner with a giant basket of freshly baked bread, which I turned down because of my wheat allergy and the owner said, "You must tell me right away, I will take care of you!" and he had some fresh and hot gluten-free bread brought to me right away. What a treat!!!!

This is a fantastic Italian family owned establishment with all the charm and fantastic service that you find in Italy. And the food! Superb!

My husband had the Penne Arrabiata, and I had a Gluten Free Vegetarian Pizza. Both were absolutely excellent. The veggies on the pizza were crispy and delicious, the sauce and cheese were wonderful and the crust was crispy around the edges.

The owner took the time to have about a 20 min chat with us, inquiring about my allergy and telling us that he had been Celiac for many years.

I could not fit dessert into my preggy tummy, but my husband had the mint and chocolate ice cream which was spectacular! I had a bite, and I've never had ice cream that was as light as a mousse. Brilliantly done. Not only that, but over half the desserts on the menu were gluten free. Not just the typical gluten free fare either...they had tiramisu for goodness sake!

I highly recommend this restaurant for WF and GF as well as non-allergy folk as well! It's a nice friendly laid back atmosphere, reasonably priced, and caters to those of us who are normally left out when it comes to Italian fare! Go there now! x