POLPO SOHO

I always feel like a tourist when I head over to the West End, especially on a Friday night when everyone is celebrating the start of the weekend - it feels like being on holiday! 

My lovely friend Ceri had invited me to a screening at the Ham Yard Hotel so we decided to eat nearby at Polpo, a Venetian restaurant serving small plates of simple food. I came here when it first opened in September 2009 and I had good memories!

There is so much on the menu to choose from - cicheti, pizzette, bread, meatballs, meat, fish, vegetables and salads….I would have liked to order the whole lot (no surprise there). We started with the arancini - little rice balls stuffed with cheese and coated in breadcrumbs. They were absolutely delicious but a little small!! Id recommend ordering two portions.

We then had the octopus and fennel carpaccio which was amazing - I wasnt expecting to like it so much but it was hands down my favourite dish of the night, full of flavour and so fresh.

There are so many meatballs to choose from such as lamb and new season garlic or pork and fennel. We went for the classic beef and pork with a rich, chunky tomato sauce and a side of zucchini, Parmesan and basil - they complimented each other perfectly.

We had a "special" pizzette - a four cheese one. I was expecting more of a pizza covered in cheese, instead the base was very crispy and it was rather light. Still good but not as great as I was expecting, it was a little dry….however I remedied that by dipping it into the tomato sauce of the meatballs!

Finally we ordered the pork belly, radicchio and hazelnuts - this was very good - crispy crackling but soft, tender meat. 

I did have room for pudding and had been eyeing up the nutella pizzette and chocolate salami but we had to dash…..next time.

The bill was very reasonable, the food was overall fantastic and service was efficient and friendly. It is no wonder that there were queues out of the door by 7pm! However thankfully there are Polpo restaurants popping up all over the place - Smithfield, Notting Hill, Covent Garden and Chelsea - I expect these are just as popular and I will definitely be frequenting the Chelsea one again soon. I want to eat the above all over again plus there is so much on the menu left to try……the fritto misto, the chickpea, spinach and ricotta meatballs, the coppa, peperonata and goats cheese bruschetta….yum!

Polpo

41 Beak Street

London

W1F 9SB

Tel: 020 7734 4479

Read More..

LA BODEGA NEGRA SOHO

On Saturday night Pascal and I went to a Mexican restaurant in Soho to celebrate his birthday for the third time. La Bodega Negra is not your usual restaurant and it is not for the faint hearted. Firstly you have to enter through the facade of a sex shop and once in, you are confronted by a mannequin dressed up as a gimp. 

Maybe not a place to take the in laws?! 

The restaurant itself is lower ground and cave like with erotic art, several booth like tables, pounding music and very low lighting. We were shown to our table and it was so close to the table next to us, I was practically sitting on my neighbours lap! We ordered some drinks and perused the menu - this wasnt as easy as it sounds as it is so dark you can barely read the menu and the music was so loud in order to communicate with Pascal, we had to SHOUT!

I took control and went ahead and ordered and the food started coming pretty quickly. We started with some sunflower toastados with guacamole. These were really good - chunky guacamole which was full of flavour.

We then had the quesadilla rustica with four different cheeses, roasted tomato and epazote (whatever that is?) - this is like a four cheese pizza and really really good - it did have a bit of a kick to it but that is to be expected in a Mexican!

My favourite part of the meal were the tacos - we ordered every one - char roasted mushroom with crema mexicana, lamb with drunken salsa, beef beef with salsa comal and soft shell crab with chipotle crema. I adored all of them especially the lamb - my only complaint were they were too small - we could have ordered double. Our table was certainly not big enough for our appetites!!

By this point I had been told off for taking photos with a flash - I felt like I was at school - I did manage to sneak a couple more in though.

Last time we had eaten here I remembered not being impressed by the main courses so we just ordered the one - pork belly with mezcal and salsa verde and pinto beans. I was certainly not disappointed this time, this was one of the best pork dishes I have ever had (even better than mine!), tender and soft yet still with crispy crackling - delicious.

We were tempted to order more tacos but decided to go sweet instead and ordered churros with dulce de leche. These were amazing - the churros was doughy, sugary and warm and the dulce de leche sauce was rich, creamy and sweet. 

We really enjoyed the food and our waitress was very attentive however due to the absolutely deafening music, I dont think we will hurry back. Listening to Nivana at full volume isnt my idea of a relaxing meal, plus I like to talk not shout. Its a shame as I love Mexican food and there arent an abundance of Mexican restaurants in London. Anyway all in all we had a nice time and I utterly enjoyed the sound of silence when I got home! 

La Bodega Negra

9 Old Compton Street,
London 
W1D 5JF
Tel: 020 7758 4100

Read More..