coppa, london fields

As London's skyline get higher, and evenings stretch longer, summertime rooftop drinking and eating has never tasted so damn GOOD. There's a plethora of places to pick from in the big smoke, from Netil House's glorious 360 roof terrace in Hackney to the refined insouciance of Boundary in Shoreditch to Kensington's tropical luxe Roof Gardens.

Coppa Bar & Rosticceria, nestled on high between the London Fields railway line and the fields themselves, is a little big gem with a mahoosive sparkle, that definitely deserves winkling out ASAP. Open Thursday - Sunday, serving a mixture of Italian charcuterie, meat, salads, cocktails and wine, it's the ideal locale for a long boozy sunset supper. (It's also got a canopy for any pesky showers that may threaten to rain on your parade).

With a mixture of long bench tables spread with red and white checked tablecloths, and cute intimate beach style huts to sit in, coloured fairy lights twinkle overhead as hungry Hackneyites laugh, jape and chow down on strong Italo BBQ cookery...

Summer nights call for summer punch and we set the pace with some bang tidy fruity Amaro Mule cocktails (Melletti Amaro, ginger beer, lime). The Rosemary Julep and Stella Spritz didn't go down quite so well with my companions, being a bit punchy for our tastes, so we ordered in a bottle of chilled red to go with our feast.

And what a feast it was! Opting for the set menu at a very reasonable £25 a head, the courses just kept on comin'... Here's a tip - arrive hungry.

Kicking off with a beautiful mix of pillowy chewy ciabatta, toasted almonds, plump juicy green olives, creamy buffalo mozarella, thick cloudy quality olive oil and thinly sliced meats with pickled samphire, it's fair to say we guzzled that antipasti like nobody's business. 

When the tender BBQ chicken (roasted in Nduja and Rosemary & Lemon) turned up we had to slow the pace, and do our best to do justice to the meat and the four generous, fresh and zesty salads which came with: grilled radicchio, fennel and orange, potato and bean and panzanella. There were even patatine fritte, or salty fries, with ketchup & mayo to go with - an essential in my book.

A zingy little pot of lemon sorbet at the end of the meal was an unexpected but welcome surprise. And as we all know, there's always room for dessert.

Although the end bill was higher than we intended (our fault - those cocktails) the amount of lush food for dollar and good vibes atop that roof was well worth it. We were stuffed like pigs by the end, but the cooking is clean, tasty and healthy - which means you can drink more, right? And you could always come for balmy evening boozing, with a smattering of snacks to go with, rather than the veritable banquet we opted for.

You can't book unless you're a group of six or more - but as long as you arrive early you should be just fine. Or do what we did and book a table for 6, then turn up with 3...naughty.

With just the right mix of charm, cool and credible cooking, Coppa feel of some Italian rooftop action quick smart before the cumulonimbus inevitably come rolling back over...