Cotto

Nailed it in every category– Owner was so friendly and waiters were extremely helpful! Food was absolutely delicious, as well as being allergy friendly! And the atmosphere was so comforting, God, I just didn’t want to leave.
On a 3-​day trip to London, I heard about this hole in the wall, allergy friendly restaurant with gluten free pasta and other Italian food called Cotto. I have allergies to dairy and eggs, so I figured that I could find something I could have there. I looked up the location on Google Maps and took the Piccadilly Line and transferred to the Bakerloo Line to Lambeth North. (Very short walk from there, just do that instead of walking all the way from Waterloo). I accidentally came about 15 minutes before opening time that day (6pm) but, even though he was eating, the owner graciously took me to a seat and asked for my order. After telling him about my allergies, he actually decided to make me a special shrimp pasta before anybody came so there was no contamination. While other restaurants have been friendly, they haven’t gone this far. I then learned that the owner actually has celiac himself! What a great way to make use of allergies– opening a restaurant with gluten free food for people like yourself! Maybe I should do that one day…

I went on a trip to London in late March of this year. We had checked out Cotto on Unilocal a year before but couldn’t make it before we left… so it became a high priority for us to go get their gluten-​free pasta goodness before we return home.
We journeyed by Underground to reach the restaurant and found it to be quite a walk from the Waterloo station but still worth the walk. Next time we’d take the extra time to transfer to the Bakerloo line since Lambeth is literally across the street.
We were greeted by the owner who is the most delightful Italian man. He is celiac himself… so you can be certain that his gluten-​free pasta is going to be on-​point! He was excited to see someone in our party was gluten-​free and shared his ideas on what the Mister should have for his dinner. The owner’s warmth and excitement enhanced our entire experience and made the whole meal a perfect experience.
Let’s get onto the pasta… I am not celiac, so I didn’t have to worry about gluten free. I settled on the regular fusilli con salicce with the house red. I found the pasta really good… but the sauce was where it was at! It was just absolutely delicious and I am sad I don’t live in London so I could go all the time.
We wrapped up our meal with some of the most delicious desserts… I chose the lemon sorbet. served inside a hollowed out lemon coated in sugar and frozen. Yes, you read all of that correctly. If it’s on the menu… get it!
So, whether you are a London local, or a tourist like me… whether you are celiac or a gluten-​seeking fiend… check out Cotto and bring your appetite!

Absolutely love the place! Walking in your feel like you’re walking in to your friend’s place. The owner is very friendly and chatty. The service is always great and the food is delicious. Highly recommend it

This was the BEST Italian I’ve ever had had as a celiac. The owner is also a celiac and made an amazing meal for me. The place is so good I want to fly my celiac mother from the USA to London so she can try it.

I can’t even begin to say how amazing this place is. My husband has a gluten and tomato allergy and the owner completely took care of us. My family is Italian and I can honestly say that this is the best Italian food I’ve ever had.

The people there are very friendly, but the food is nothing to write home about. It’s very bland.
Where I come from, almost all restaurants come with free bread. At this restaurants. They bring around a basket of bread and tell you to pick one. They fail to mention they charge 1 pound for a little tiny slice! And it was dry…
Also, watch the check when they bring it to you, they over charged us AND the table next to us.

We’re so glad we found this wonderful place on our trip to London — we made sure to get back here twice! I’m gluten free, and I’ll be thinking about those handmade noodles for a long while. Simply can’t find anything like it in the US. The owner and the restaurant staff were so friendly and we had the best time. Can’t recommend enough, especially if you’re gluten free!

I went to London on a business trip and used the Find Me Gluten Free app, which directed me to Cotto. It appears the owner was there, and he is also gluten free, so we chatted a bit – nice old dude. I was brought GF bread and butter (yummy!), and got the gluten free pasta & mushrooms with cream sauce, and the coppa caramel for dessert. The pasta was really good – flavor and texture. I’d go back again.

Cozy little family-​run Italian joint blocks from the bustling Waterloo station serves great, filling fare at a decent price for London. Given the small space, reservations are probably a good idea, although the place is very informal and casual. The website helpfully provides a link for such.
Let’s jump right in to say that the spaghetti carbonara ($ 13.60 at the current one Pound per $ 1.50ish exchange rate) was declared one of the best pasta dishes ever by one finicky pasta prude in our party. Mercifully light on the bacon — really more like pancetta anyway in this rustic prep — but with plenty of velvety egg yolk, the tight, rich serving was incredibly filling and satisfying.
Next, the four-​cheese penne ($ 16) — just a very rich, hearty prep that really hit the spot for anyone looking for a big, warming entrée. Finishing it under a broiler gave it just the the right amount of brown and chew. You will wobble home.
More complex was the crespoline ($ 16.60), basically fresh pasta filled with spinach and ricotta cheese, topped with tomato sauce and baked. Think Italian enchiladas. Acid and cream and goodness. Very nice little dish.
Pizza fans? The Vesuviana (tomato, mozzarella, homemade sausage and peppers $ 18.35) does feature some great sausage, but otherwise the price point seems a little high for the dish, almost like a tourist «pizza» premium is in effect.
Desserts were aces across — the tiramisu, mint ripple, and sorbets were all great finishes to a simple, honest dinner. Of note the sorbets arrived in wonderful little fresh citrus skins that clearly spoke to an attention to detail which would please any foodie.
Finally — the gluten free pasta options have been highly praised by other Unilocalers, but were not sampled by our party. Might be a decision maker for you.
Bottomline, looking for a simple, filling, pleasant evening meal on the south bank of the Thames — give Cotto a go.

I am still dreaming about the carbonara I had here in February! It was awesome that they had such a large gluten free menu as I was traveling with celiacs. I am fortunate that I am not limited by that, but this place was a win for both the «regular» pasta and GF pasta crowds. When we walked in we were greeted by who I think was the owner. He was lovely, so friendly and jolly. I can’t wait to come back!

In my opinion, this is the best place to get food in London. If you’re looking for delicious, homemade gluten free Italian dishes, then definitely come here. If you’re looking for delicious, homemade fully of gluten Italian dishes, this is also the place for you! (I’ve taken non-​gluten free friends here and they loved it just as much as I do)
The quality of the care put into the dishes doesn’t waver between the regular and gluten free dishes as is so often the case at other restaurants. The Boccia family will invite you in, make you feel at home, and strive to meet all of your dietary needs. Doesn’t get better than that.

I guess most of the excited 5-​star reviews are from the Gluten-​Free crowd. It’s awesome that this restaurant has such a wide GF/​DF selection, but their «normal» food was just… yeah, A-​OK.

I’m a Canadian Celiac traveling in London who stumbled upon Cotto’s to find a Gluten Free oasis. The food is fantastic and the choices are overwhelming. Treat yourself, you’ll be so happy that you did. It’s worth any effort to get here for a meal.

Simply, we loved it! Both my partner and I are GF and I am also DF (winning double) so finding a place that accommodates both is really difficult. This place is amazing. The owner explained that he is gluten intolerant himself hence why the menu is so extensive! Would recommend to anyone who loves great Italian food.

I love this place, family run classic Italian joint. The food is always fresh, tasty, cooked to perfection and served with a BIG smile. They also cater for Gluten intolerance which i have never seen anywhere else in London. Well located 5 minutes walk from waterloo. The house red is a lovely smooth drop — perfect to wash down the divine Tiramisu. Well worth a visit, ive been back multiple times and it wont be long until the next visit.

Went here with my aunt for gluten free options. Her GF pizza and pasta were just as tasty as my normal tortellini! The food was just fantastic and the owner and staff were very friendly. I couldn’t recommend Cotto highly enough!

Excellent service and food, really a recommendation!
If I have to give one down point, it would be that out main dish was a little small. Actually, if we didn’t take a starter, it would have been to little to satisfy.

Five stars, hands down, for many reasons.
As others have mentioned: this is the best guten-​free restaurant I’ve found in London, and the best part was, I found it by complete accident when out with my mostly GF family.
We had one of the best service experiences I’ve had in London: the owner spoke came over to our table when he heard we were ordering GF food, walked us through the menu, checked on us several times, plus the three or four other servers who took care of us. The restaurant wasn’t full for a Monday evening, which was nice too.
The food itself was deliciouso, both GF and non-​GF (I tried the dishes my family ordered). We had wine, and many courses, including a delicious GF dessert that was on par with any «normal» dessert I’ve had.
The only drawback to Cotto is the location, as most people aren’t likely to stumble on it, and being on the corner of Westminster Bridge Road probably makes parking a bit tricky. Nonetheless, it’s one place I would take anyone looking for GF, as well as anyone looking for «normal» Italian.
Bravo!

This was just an average italian restaurant. I got the gnocchi and it was pretty tasteless. We ate at the bar and the bartender was really nice, but the food service was just terrible and they secretly charged us without informing us! Will not be returning.

Cotto is one of my all-​time favorite restaurants on either side of the pond. Almost the entire menu can be made gluten-​free, so there are SO MANY choices, including pizza, pasta, etc. Not only that, they really understand that GF/​coeliac/​celiac is not a fad and they go to great lengths to keep everything safe and separate (which is not always something you get at Italian chain restaurants). The place is so welcoming, especially if you are part of the gluten-​free tribe. I’ve had some of the most memorable meals ever here mostly because of the kindness and warmth of the host/​owner, Lino.
There are garlicky olives to get you started, then bread & butter. I’ve had the eggplant parm (an appetizer but big enough for a meal), spaghetti bolognese, and gnocchi, all of which were stupendous and all of which are made in-​house. The desserts make me weep — gluten free tira misu, panna cotta, or my new true love, the tartufo limoncello, which I will see in my dreams until I come back to London again. If you can’t tell already, I just really love this place and it is always a treat to dine here.

Der nette, kleine Italiener an der Ecke! Inhaber (natürlich Italiener) geführtes Restaurant mit leckerer Pizza, einem (fast zu) aufmerksamen Service und frischer Pasta. Hauswein sehr gut!