Polpo is what's known as a Bacaro, or a small Venetian-style inn. Traditionally serving drinks and snacks, it doesn't sound much to crow about, but when the snacks are authentically Italian, the setting is trendy and the place is in Soho I suppose it does take on a slightly elevated air of expectation.
Polpo is hot, busy and cramped. It's all elbows and arses trying to get around the place and it has a sense that it was only set up yesterday with a skeleton staff running things. It's full of people trying to shout louder than the nearest table and exclaim with that little bit more flamboyance than the slightly foppier drunkard on the other side of the room. Sort of like an art opening only with no art, but with food. So it's better than an art opening.
Conceptually, once you take out all the slight annoyances, it's spot on. Italian tapas, more or less. You may not be able to book a table there but it is sure worth the uncomfortable wait. Polpo has that rare gift of being able to make you feel as if you're actually in a different country. Apart from all the English being spoken I suppose.
We ate a hearty mix of small dishes which were, by and large, rather special. The underlying key to all this hype, pretence and atmospheric frenzy is that the food has to be good. Otherwise what you're left with is a frustrating husk which promises everything and delivers nothing.
So, showing that Polpo is certainly a little more than your run of the mill Soho pretender to Italian convenience food, we ate: chopped chicken liver, potato & parmesan, pizzetta Bianca (a mini white pizza), wild mushroom piadina, sliced fillet steak, duck ragu, fritto misto, grilled polenta, Sfogliatina and a hot chocolate pot. Quite a haul I'm sure you'll concede.
However, as I mentioned before, this is Italian tapas. These were all tastefully small plates, presented impeccably and for the most part, delicious. Some, such as the polenta, were a bit too heavy, a bit too rich, a bit too plodding about Soho having got too lashed too early in the evening... (Polenta can do that apparently.) But some, such as the fillet steak, the piadina (flat bread with a variety of sumptuous mushrooms) and the fritto misto (miscellaneous seafood battered, deep-fried and served with lemon) were actually superb.
You will not be able to walk in to Polpo on any night of the week, guarantee a table at short notice and have every dish put in front of you take your breath away. But you will be able to go in there and have a pretty fulfilling and exciting dinner for two at under £60 (as long as you don't have wine), enjoy some cracking Italian food and feel as if you are in a genuine Venetian establishment.
My personal tip is to go for a lunch there. You can book and it's quite the place for a little midday refreshment. The evening we had there was great though; the hype well justified and the venue's place in contemporary Soho folklore truly sealed.
Polpo
Polpo is hot, busy and cramped. It's all elbows and arses trying to get around the place and it has a sense that it was only set up yesterday with a skeleton staff running things. It's full of people trying to shout louder than the nearest table and exclaim with that little bit more flamboyance than the slightly foppier drunkard on the other side of the room. Sort of like an art opening only with no art, but with food. So it's better than an art opening.
Conceptually, once you take out all the slight annoyances, it's spot on. Italian tapas, more or less. You may not be able to book a table there but it is sure worth the uncomfortable wait. Polpo has that rare gift of being able to make you feel as if you're actually in a different country. Apart from all the English being spoken I suppose.
We ate a hearty mix of small dishes which were, by and large, rather special. The underlying key to all this hype, pretence and atmospheric frenzy is that the food has to be good. Otherwise what you're left with is a frustrating husk which promises everything and delivers nothing.
So, showing that Polpo is certainly a little more than your run of the mill Soho pretender to Italian convenience food, we ate: chopped chicken liver, potato & parmesan, pizzetta Bianca (a mini white pizza), wild mushroom piadina, sliced fillet steak, duck ragu, fritto misto, grilled polenta, Sfogliatina and a hot chocolate pot. Quite a haul I'm sure you'll concede.
However, as I mentioned before, this is Italian tapas. These were all tastefully small plates, presented impeccably and for the most part, delicious. Some, such as the polenta, were a bit too heavy, a bit too rich, a bit too plodding about Soho having got too lashed too early in the evening... (Polenta can do that apparently.) But some, such as the fillet steak, the piadina (flat bread with a variety of sumptuous mushrooms) and the fritto misto (miscellaneous seafood battered, deep-fried and served with lemon) were actually superb.
You will not be able to walk in to Polpo on any night of the week, guarantee a table at short notice and have every dish put in front of you take your breath away. But you will be able to go in there and have a pretty fulfilling and exciting dinner for two at under £60 (as long as you don't have wine), enjoy some cracking Italian food and feel as if you are in a genuine Venetian establishment.
My personal tip is to go for a lunch there. You can book and it's quite the place for a little midday refreshment. The evening we had there was great though; the hype well justified and the venue's place in contemporary Soho folklore truly sealed.
Polpo
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