Sprio

The 2012 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2012) edition.

St Stephen Street on a summer’s day could almost be mistaken for a Milanese back street, and it’s this atmosphere the owners of Sprio succeed in reflecting. This isn’t just an Italian-themed café, it’s one which reflects the sights and smells of the country, from the cool, brightly-designed furniture to the action-packed fumetti adorning the walls and a range of imported Italian sweets, magazines and dry goods. Most of the kitchen ingredients are also Italian imports, making up quick snacks like flat piadine bread with cooked ham and a fontina cheese from the Alps or a selection of meats with olives and a salad, with the excellent Italian coffees being particularly redolent of a Mediterranean escape. Here, the emphasis is on sitting down and savouring.

• High point: Genuine Italian flavour to the place
• Low point: The spell might not be so effective on a chill winter’s day