Exterior of Polpo. Behind this pink facade you find one of the cosiest Venetian bacaros in London.
Originally uploaded by Manne.
C, one of my lovely colleagues at Livebookings, invited me and W over for dinner at his home a few weeks ago. Then he emailed me a change of plan: no home dinner, instead we would go to some place in Soho called Polpo.
I googled it, and it turned out it hadn't opened yet. At time of writing still hasn't opened. So Friday night saw us go to a preview of this spanking new place modelled on Venetian bacari. Bacari? Apparently it is plural for "bacaro", an Italian word for a "workingman's pub" serving simple wines and tapas style dishes of food. That is also about just as much information as you will get from the current web site: simple wines from northern Italy, traditional and modern takes on classic Italian dishes.
Loving restaurant openings and previews, I immediately got very excited, not the least because behind it all (among others I am sure) is Russell Norman who previously has been Restaurant Manager at Zuma and Operations Director for Caprice Holdings (The Ivy, J Sheekey and a few more of the better restaurants in London...). Somehow this hints at executional greatness and focus on customer service.
We started the night with a cocktail at Floridita. While it may have the cheapest furniture of any bar area in London, I really like that conservatory, astro turf clad room they have towards the street.
From there it is only a short walk to Beak Street where Polpo is located, right across the street from Bob Bob Ricard. If you have ever been to Bob Bob Ricard, I am sure you like me were blown away by the stunning look of the place. The attention to detail in the art deco furnishings is amazing, and no expense seems to have been spared to create a lavish dining experience.
Stepping into Polpo I instantly got the same type of "wow" feeling as I looked down the corridor shaped room past the bar in the entrance area. At first glance, it looks old, yet amazingly well preserved and taken care of. As you look closer, you realize that while it is all brand new, great attention to detail has gone into decorating this place. About there is where the similarity with Bob Bob Ricard abruptly ends though, for the better, trust me...
While it may sound cliched, walking down the narrow dining room I felt a bit like I was transported away from London to a completely different place, a different age. Top marks for ambience, in other words. I particularly like the wall lamps, where simple galvanized tubes are used to hide the cables. Very pretty, and so right for the feeling of the room.
As we sat down we were offered a campari spritzer. Not really my thing, but the olives that were in them were absolutely brilliant. Totally in tune with the simple bacaro image, the menu is printed on the paper place mats on the table. Divided in the basic food groups you are offered a selection of Crostini, Breads, Meat, Fish, Vegetables and Dessert. Most dishes on the menu are under five pounds, encouraging you to order lots of them.
Wine menu is similarly simple, with good but mostly cheap wines. Most of them available in 1/4, 1/2 or whole bottle, again, being able to sample different options seems to be a basic philosophy of Polpo.
Not wanting to miss out, we ordered all of the nine Crostinis (since only one of them is over 2 pounds a no brainer move...) and picked out two each of the bigger dishes. We then set out to rate them all from one to five, scribbling our notes on the place mat as we went along to our waiters' great enjoyment.
As food started coming in we realized a slight problem with the cosy and intimate ambience. The tables are rather small, and placed very tight together in a row along one wall. If you are greedy bastards like us, space on the table runs out very quickly and it gets quite tricky to fit new dishes coming in unless you finish up the previous ones. For a while I felt like I was in one of those Alice in Wonderland tea parties.
Highlights of the flurry of main dishes were definitely Calf's liver with onion and sage, and the Pork belly with hazelnuts. The pork had a sweetness to its melt in your mouth texture that was sublime. Among the crostinis a special mention must go out to the genius who came up with pairing prosciutto with fig and mint. Truly inspired. I could eat those all night.
There was one strange dish. I wouldn't call it a let down, since it did taste alright for what it was, but we just couldn't figure out how it at all had made the menu? What was down on the menu as Ham, lettuce and mayo tramezzini was the equivalent of a crustless wonderbread sandwich. I guess that is what a tramezzini should be, but still. Felt and tasted distinctly English to me.
Dividing the table was Cuttlefish in its ink. While me and W absolutely loved it, the others were a bit more hesitant. Understandable, I guess cuttlefish ink coloured dishes are something you either love or hate. As cuttlefish comes though, go to Polpo and try theirs out if you want to know where you stand...
We also tried the entire dessert menu. What can I say. For the past few years I have found myself feeling unamused by dessert menus, bordering on downright bored. At Polpo, my dessert gland stirred and awoke from hibernation when reading the intriguing names of the dishes. Not that I understood a word of them, but they sounded like things I wanted to try! Unsurprisingly, they were all good, but the Ciambella (an Italian cake) & chocolate definitely came out top. Double marks for having Cantuccini e vin santo, the perfect after dinner snack, on the menu.
By now, we had occupied our table for quite some time, and there were more people eagerly waiting in the bar to dig into the menu. Tempted with a bottle of bubbly we retired to the bar to keep chatting away.
Col Vetoraz, a really good bottle of bubbly. Dry, yet with a deep flavour and a hint of sweet afterglow.
Originally uploaded by Manne.
Before I reveal the entire breakdown of dishes and their grades, I must point out a very, very disappointing fact: Polpo is not open Sundays! Umm, what? If there ever was a place I would like to go on a Sunday and feast away on guilty pleasures with my friends, this is it! Why not stay closed on a Monday instead? Please?
There. Without further ado, our grading of the plates. Looking at the menu place mat in front of me now, it is funny to see how the grades get scribbled bigger and loftier as wine were consumed. A lovely Montepulciano by the way.
Polpo opens at the 30th of September. Do go check them out, especially if you are looking for a romantic night with someone special, you will not regret it.
Crostinis & Cichete
5 - Fig, prosciutto & mint (must try!)
5 - Chopped chicken liver
4 - Salt cod on grilled polenta (amazing)
4 - Mortadella, gorgonzola, walnut
4 - Arancini (risotto balls, brilliant)
3.5 - Green tapenade
3.5 - Anchovy & chick pea
3 - Spratti in saor
2 - Potato & parmesan croquette
I feel I have to explain that grade of 2 for the croquette. There was nothing wrong with the croquette. In fact, it was perfectly cooked with a crispy golden outside and really creamy texture inside. But where was the parmesan? None of us could find the slightest hint of it.
Breads
4 - Crudo, mozzarella, rocket panino
2 - Ham, lettuce, mayo tramezzini
Again, nothing wrong with the tramezzini, but it didn't do anything for us.
Meat
5+ - Pork belly, radicchio, hazelnuts
5 - Calf's liver, onions, sage
3 - Roast pumpkin, prosciutto, ricotta
As you can see pork belly went off the scale. And the liver blew me away. I don't even like liver! This dish though, absolutely fantastic. Parents, if you can't get your kids to eat liver, take them to Polpo!
Fish
4.5 - Mackerel tartare, carta di musica
4 - Cuttlefish in its ink, gremolata
That tartare was fantastic. I think the only thing that kept it from the 5 was that we were starting feeling a bit silly with handing out so many high marks to be honest... Looking at the menu now I wish we also had tried the octopus salad. But sadly we didn't, so I guess I have to go back! Oh, the chore...
Vegetables, salads
5+ - Runner bean, red onion, pecorino
5 - Roast potatoes & rosemary
While the potatoes were perfect with a crispy crust and velvet inside, the runner bean and pecorino salad was in a league of its own. Not sure what did it, if it simply was the perfect crispiness of the beans, or the saltiness from the pecorino, but that dish was in all its simplicity right up there with the pork belly. Goes to show what good produce can do for a food experience.
Desserts
5 - Ciambella & chocolate
4.5 - Warm autumn fruits & amaretto
4 - Asiago with fig chutney
3.5 - Honey & walnut semifreddo
3.5 - Cantuccini e vin santo
The autumn fruits were so good, yet the ciambella with its fluffy texture and deep, rich chocolate sauce just edged in at the top after some heated debate.
