“This is not traditional food, this is a contortion of street food: Everything that is bad for you, we make good for you. We’re a hybrid model: The production is gourmet because everything is made by hand, however the restaurant is fast, with food prepared for you as you order.” -Richard Thomas Ercolani,
Not all fast food is created equal. If you’re looking for lunchtime pit stop here in Rome, there are a million options to choose from. However, between the smattering of big brand fast food joints and certain sub-par pizzerias serving greasy offerings by the slice, there are hidden gems to be found.
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- Burgers
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- Fries
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- Wraps
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- Bagels
Serving burgers, fries, wraps, and bagels, Banco has all the hallmarks of a typical fast food joint. This time though, it’s not as you might expect.
Wraps of wholegrain spelt flour and smoked tofu; organic chicken, sprouts, seeds, and dried fruit; all appear on the modern and carefully branded menu. Some might call the friendly line icons and contemporary fonts hipster, but Banco is no fleeting trend. Look past the fashionable (and yet beautiful) style of this charming eatery and there’s substance to be found.
Banco is committed to using healthy, natural and sustainable ingredients: organic where possible, seasonal vegetables, specially selected whole flours, premium cheeses, and only free-range chicken. All most impressive and a world away from the deep fried, low budget but high environmental cost we recognize in many of today’s fast food chains.
Manager and co-founder, Richard Thomas Ercolani, explains the concept behind this fast food revamp. “This is not traditional food, this is a contortion of street food: Everything that is bad for you, we make good for you. We’re a hybrid model: The production is gourmet because everything is made by hand, however the restaurant is fast, with food prepared for you as you order.”
Ercolani founded the company about a year ago with his business partner Paolo Platania. Having already run a digital communications agency together and with experience in the food industry, they knew there was a gap in Rome’s culinary market. Also being fans of the international fast food scene, where quick is combined with organic and nutritious, they decided to fill that gap with Banco.
Chef Pietro Platania
What they lacked, however, was a chef. To join them they chose 26-year-old Pietro Platania, brother of founder Paolo. His credentials from a number of top international chefs and prestigious establishments dissuade any notion of nepotism. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Platania worked with the owner of the first Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant in Europe, Pietro Leemann. This was followed by a stint with sustainable food pioneer Alice Waters, who was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2014.
Founder Ercolani and I sit at the long counter (after which Banco, meaning bench or bar in Italian is named) and we decide what to eat. Once we’ve chosen, the chefs in the open kitchen opposite us begin to prepare our orders. I choose the King Tunny; a skipjack tuna roll with raisins; pine nuts; marinated red onion; and battuto mediterraneo; a kind of thick pesto made with olives, capers, tomato, and chili. Ercolani goes for the Nordic bagel with smoked salmon, yoghurt sauce, and lightly pickled cucumber.
Nearby, as he oversees the preparations, Platania talks about his passion for sustainable food. “I have this interest for ecological and environmental topics, it is a way to go beyond the plate, beyond the taste and the technique, to complete the story.” He pauses for a second to instruct the chef to put a little less onion in my order, then continues. “For example, maybe not in England, but in Rome it’s kind of provocative to say vegan fast food. In Rome everyone wants meat, (so) we want to change the standard, slowly but surely.”
The menu is not exclusively vegan or vegetarian, but all the options are certainly put together with a conscious eye on provenance, quality, and environmental impact. One of their bestsellers, the vegan roll, is a great example that healthy doesn’t have to be boring. Crunchy pickled red cabbage is wrapped in a thin spelt flour tortilla handmade by the team onsite. Packed with hummus, a mustard and blueberry sauce, shoots, seeds and dried fruit, I’ve chosen the vegan roll on a number of visits and never been disappointed.
Another of my favorites is the chicken noodle dish: thick rice noodles in a clear, salty broth with pieces of organic chicken and seasonal vegetables.
Fresh soup is cooked and served on the premises; a different choice offered everyday. From cauliflower, beetroot and chicory; to artichoke and sundried tomato; it’s always garnished with croutons and nutrient-rich sprouted seeds.
We eat with our eyes first, and all the dishes I’ve seen come out of the Banco kitchen are simply but expertly presented. A rainbow of ingredients are transformed into dishes that will satisfy any fast food craving you might have whilst at the same time being healthy and nutritious.
Choosing one of these colorful creations is always a pleasure, so I was pleased to discover a second location will open in Trastevere before the end of the month. I can’t wait!
