Polpo has been one of those places I have tried to have dinner at for ages, but have always faced at least an hour wait. An hour is far too long when I am hungry (as many of my friends can tell you) and can get very grouchy and can’t talk to anyone as food is the only thing on my mind.
However, the other day I was meeting up with the (gay) husband and I was lucky to be in the centre of town for work. So as soon as my meeting finished, I put my fast strut on Iand headed over to Polpo. As you cant book or hold tables, I was harassing the hubby to leave his desk and meet me for a spritz ASAP. He knew i meant business, so he got there pretty quick.
I chose to eat at the bar, cos thats how I roll!!. I love to befriend the bar staff and try & gauge their faces when you order dishes to see if you have chosen well.
We got a selection of starters.
Potato & Parmesan crocchette
Fennel salami & radicchio grissini
Asparagus, taleggio, speck pizzetta
My faves were the crochettes and the pizzetta. The flavours were fantastic and I was def in food heaven. If i had one grouch tho, the fennel salami and grissini dish was £3.50 which I thought was a little ridiculous when you only get 2.My dad had a deli; i def know that they were making some serious mark up. I found the croquettes really tasty so i did not mind too much at the time that they were £4. I def think that portions could be a little more generous tho to be in line with their price tags.
Then for Mains we got selection of dishes again.
Spicy pork & fennel meatballs
Market greens
Linguine vongole
Here I had no complaints. Portions were of decent size, the flavours were all there and good value for money. To be honest, I found myself finding it hard to share (only cos I’m piggy), but there was definitely enough food for 2 people
Then for dessert we finished with the Flourless orange & almond cake that was served with mascarpone and 2 spoons. Now, i don’t have a huge sweet tooth but this was great way to finish the meal. It was beautifully light and again flavoursome.
I recommend Polpo. Perfect place for a 2nd or 3rd date or catch up with a friend. I do think tho that if you went with a group of people you would have to order quite a multiple of dishes to feel satisfied and the bill could be quite expensive.
I have to admit, I was not sure what to expect at Polpo. As some know, I rarely go out for Italian food as I do believe some Italian restaurants in the UK really inflate their prices. I know in some instances i could rustle something better at home for a 1/4 of the price. However, considering this is not owned by an Italian, I got a great taste of Italian food and I left very happy. In regards to wine, the house white, Trebbiano was also excellent and great value for money, with a large carafe at £12
You can tell that someone has really taken care in ensuring that all the ingredients and cooking are of the highest quality. I fully respect that. No flavour fails here
Polpo Soho
41 Beak Street
London W1F 9SB
020 7734 4479
