La Masseria

The real value at La Masseria lies in their lunch special. For around £8−9, you get a soft drink, your choice between either (or both!) of their daily dishes, and a coffee. Not too shabby, considering many other Marylebone offerings would get you just a main for that price.
Whilst the various pasta dishes I’ve had here were quite fine, none of them have quite hit home for me relative to the delightful dishes I’ve enjoyed during my travels in Italy. I’d suggest that the biggest stand-​out is the gnocchi, which were wonderfully fluffy pillows of starchy grandeur. Served in a simple tomato sauce with cheese, it really let the texture and bite of the pasta itself shine through.
On a perfect day, you can sit outside and just watch the world go by. There’s not much in the way of people-​watching, due to the relatively quiet nature of the side street that this café is on, but it makes for some enjoyable sunning and quiet time to catch up on some reading.

I’m torn about this place — I think it’s a really cute place with friendly Italian staff. I came here with two colleagues of mine and right away the lovely lady behind the counter introduced as to the compact menu.
To be quite honest, I was a little disappointed by the variety of choices — nothing really tickled my taste buds; especially since I was looking for a low-​carb option. In the end I went with the burrata salad — and let me tell you: that was a disappointment. I mean the burrata itself was tasty, but the whole presentation of the salad made me not want to come here again; at least not for lunch: bedded on a cos salad (iceberg lettuce) next to three lonely slices of tomato, was the bundle of burrata cheese. «That’s all», I asked myself, when I opened the to-​go-​container back at the office? And that’s what I paid £5.90 for? Very disappointing…
My colleagues had better luck apparently — one of them ordered their vegetarian pasta special and the other had a salami pannini — both of which were allegedly tasty.
Overall, I really like the vibe of this place — it feels homey, down-​to-​earth and I can totally see myself coming back for a coffee… but not lunch. Sorry, that train has left the station…

We spent a week in Puglia earlier this year. It was kind of a life-​changing experience. If there was any semblance of a banking system for the hubs to work in, I think we would have moved there already. The masseria — sundrenched farmhouses that stand among the olive groves — are one of the most amazing parts of the experience. We managed a 10-​course lunch on a blazingly hot day at the masseria, Il Frantoio, for example. Of course, there are some unappealing aspects, too. Like the large insects, including the scorpion that camped under my kitchen sponge.
Anyway, I digress. La Masseria isn’t technically a farmhouse in the middle of Marylebone. Rather, it is a charming little Italian café. I wouldn’t say that it’s genuinely southern Italian. However, it does carry a few obscure varietals of southern Italina wine, like Negroamaro, grown almost exclusively in the Puglian region of Salento. Of course, this hangs out next to a bag of brand-​name biscotti. So, more Italian in general, I suppose.
Beyond this little identity crisis, there is a nice little deli and coffee counter. And they do manage to pull a damn fine dopio espresso. I’m not sure what coffee they use (although I suspect it’s Illy). And for an area ruled by the S-​bux and other mediocre coffee chains, this is my favourite part of this little ‘farmhouse’ in the West End… sans scorpions, of course.

I live next door to this café, so not an entirely neutral review. It’s a simple but very Italian café. There’s a steady stream of young Italian staff who I guess come to London to learn English, but the place attracts such a solidly Italian clientele most of the time that English is rarely heard. Opens 8am-​ish weekdays, later on Saturdays, closed on Sundays. Closes around 7.30 — 8pm. I guess it’s not a destination place, but it’s found what it’s good at and does it very well. If you’re in the area and need a breakfast cappucino or a nicely designed grilled panini and espresso with one of those little custard mille feuille cup cakes for lunch, you can’t go wrong. Has a small selection of Apulian pasta, wine and so on, to take away.