We spent two weeks in our second home and had a couple of days' break in Hong Kong at the end of it. The result was a couple of excessively tired double-newlyweds with full stomachs. Dinner was off the cards for the foreseeable future. Going out was not happening. Spending money was barred.
About a week after we got back, we were eating dinner again. Yes, our collective will was as shaky as our grasp of what a balanced diet should be. The slight mitigation in this case is that some friends of friends had come to London on business and wanted to have some food. They are also Taiwanese and as such, the mild grey humidity of London was incomparable to the searing summer temperatures we'd experienced in Taipei a few weeks before.
Because of this 'cold', our friends suggested they wanted comforting hot food. "Pasta!" was the cry that went up, so I started scrambling around looking for a last-minute booking. Surprisingly, Bocca di Lupo had a table for four, so it was decided.
There is something refreshingly wholesome and authentic about the menu at Bocca di Lupo. It's simple and informative, making you feel at ease with the restaurant and what they offer. It's not especially cheap but the quality is suitably high. Usually there is enough to excite me so we had a look through and proceeded to order far too much for four.
Certain standards from our first visit were back, such as the delectable Fritto Misto. Another plate of perfectly deep-fried prawns & squid with lemon and courgette, this is the kind of thing I can see myself going back for in several years time if it stays this good. Another simply-presented dish of grilled asparagus with shaved parmesan and balsamic glaze was quite terrific also (both left). This is the very essence of what makes proper Italian food great: no tricks or frills, just great produce prepared and presented exquisitely.
There was a special on offer in the shape of some Ovoli mushrooms which appealed. They were beautifully soft and smooth, but lacked some of the punch I would have expected from what was, rather basically, just a plate of mushrooms. We also ordered some pasta sheets which came with a green sauce made primarily of broad beans and peas. This was a strange one in that it resembled a deconstructed vegetarian lasagne. The dish itself was rustic but the flavour was slightly absent.
More pasta came in the form of some tagliatelle with chicken, cream & parmesan and a tomato & crab effort (right). Definitely comfort food and certainly better than the strange lasagne, though not quite up to the impressively high standards of the seafood and asparagus.
Once all that pasta had been dispensed with, I was really in the mood to call it a night and maybe get some light dessert. Instead, our friends wanted to sample a couple of other delights from the menu. Since they were visiting, I totally understood and we indulged them with a pork chop and sausage from the 'grill' section of the menu. Both were okay - well-cooked and meaty enough - but at this stage of proceedings I was in no mood to be eating more. Especially when, after a bite of each, our friends basically left it to us to finish. One thing I will say is that honey and rosemary on the chop were better than I expected.
After such ridiculous indulgence, we'd gone from comfort food to uncomfort food in an hour or so. Naturally, at this point we headed for dessert. (No, I can't tell you why...) Princi has been a favourite of ours for a few years now (though I've never written about it here) so we thought we would treat our friends to one last eating hurrah before the night ended.
Princi is a hip and happening Italian café on Wardour street, amongst all the production company buildings of Soho. In terms of footfall it couldn't really be better placed, meaning it's now one of the most frequently busy, liveliest eateries in town. The main thing Princi has going for it is the quite amazing array of desserts laid out on the left as you enter.
It's certainly the dessert that we seem to keep returning for. The classics which never seem to leave the menu are a sumptuous passion fruit cheesecake, tiramisu and various cannoli. The cheesecake is a favourite of ours and we usually tend to combine this with something chocolatey. This time was no exception with a rich truffle cake making its way to the table. In truth it was far too much - especially since we were already full from Bocca di Lupo - but it's always fun to visit Princi, especially with friends.
Both of these places have a certain charm and both are worth a visit. The changing menu at each of them means you rarely get bored and they're both so constantly busy that the atmosphere never drags. Both of these Italian venues in Soho are not that old, but they feel like institutions already.
Bocca di Lupo
Princi
There is something refreshingly wholesome and authentic about the menu at Bocca di Lupo. It's simple and informative, making you feel at ease with the restaurant and what they offer. It's not especially cheap but the quality is suitably high. Usually there is enough to excite me so we had a look through and proceeded to order far too much for four.
There was a special on offer in the shape of some Ovoli mushrooms which appealed. They were beautifully soft and smooth, but lacked some of the punch I would have expected from what was, rather basically, just a plate of mushrooms. We also ordered some pasta sheets which came with a green sauce made primarily of broad beans and peas. This was a strange one in that it resembled a deconstructed vegetarian lasagne. The dish itself was rustic but the flavour was slightly absent.
Once all that pasta had been dispensed with, I was really in the mood to call it a night and maybe get some light dessert. Instead, our friends wanted to sample a couple of other delights from the menu. Since they were visiting, I totally understood and we indulged them with a pork chop and sausage from the 'grill' section of the menu. Both were okay - well-cooked and meaty enough - but at this stage of proceedings I was in no mood to be eating more. Especially when, after a bite of each, our friends basically left it to us to finish. One thing I will say is that honey and rosemary on the chop were better than I expected.
After such ridiculous indulgence, we'd gone from comfort food to uncomfort food in an hour or so. Naturally, at this point we headed for dessert. (No, I can't tell you why...) Princi has been a favourite of ours for a few years now (though I've never written about it here) so we thought we would treat our friends to one last eating hurrah before the night ended.
Princi is a hip and happening Italian café on Wardour street, amongst all the production company buildings of Soho. In terms of footfall it couldn't really be better placed, meaning it's now one of the most frequently busy, liveliest eateries in town. The main thing Princi has going for it is the quite amazing array of desserts laid out on the left as you enter.
It's certainly the dessert that we seem to keep returning for. The classics which never seem to leave the menu are a sumptuous passion fruit cheesecake, tiramisu and various cannoli. The cheesecake is a favourite of ours and we usually tend to combine this with something chocolatey. This time was no exception with a rich truffle cake making its way to the table. In truth it was far too much - especially since we were already full from Bocca di Lupo - but it's always fun to visit Princi, especially with friends.
Both of these places have a certain charm and both are worth a visit. The changing menu at each of them means you rarely get bored and they're both so constantly busy that the atmosphere never drags. Both of these Italian venues in Soho are not that old, but they feel like institutions already.
Bocca di Lupo
Princi
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