Alba

107 Whitecross Street

London

EC1Y 8JD

Alba is an Italian restaurant that has started doing take-away from a little shop next door. A had already tried it and said it was good, so we ended up there for my last-day-of-work lunch. There are a few little tables and chairs outside so you can actually sit and have lunch in a civilized fashion - plus when you pick what you want, they put it on real plates and heat it up for you (and if you're A, you seem to get special table-service as well!) The guy working there is clearly loving his job - singing while working and gushing about the dishes. I had a delicious vegetarian arancini stuffed with mozzarella - apparently the Sicilian-style arancini are supposed to be size of softballs. Crunchy exterior filled with creamy risotto inside - shouldn't have these too often since they're probably terrible for you, but boy do they taste good.