Last Tuesday, my friend and I met up after too long a time for a good old catch up and also to see a band called Foxes. Well, not so much a band really but a singer known as Foxes.  As Foxes wasn’t due to make an appearance on stage until 10p.m, , we had a few hours to kill, therefore we went in search for somewhere to get food. The first place we were going to go to was Leon, the healthy fast food restaurant, however we had been there a couple of times and it just didn’t have the atmosphere we were looking for. Wandering around Soho whilst chatting aimlessly we must’ve passed several restaurants that would’ve satisfied our hunger however it wasn’t until we stumbled upon ‘Polpo’ that we made a decision.

Polpo is described as The Venetian word ‘bicaro’ meaning a ‘humble restaurant serving simple food and good local wines’ It is situated on Beak Street in Soho, however there are two more, one in Covent Garden and one in Smithfield. Sister restaurants include Mishkin’s and the one I can’t stop hearing about called Spuntino.

Entering Polpo, just gone 7p.m. the place was already full to the brim with people and chatter.  The staff came up to us straight away and told us there was an hour wait, however they had a bar downstairs where we could order drinks and antipasti’s. Having a great feel for the place and seeing how popular it was, we definitely didn’t want leave. Plus it was cold outside and this place had a bar, we were sold!

The bar downstairs was also packed but there was room to stand at the bar. I ordered a glass of wine which came in a tumbler which I loved and after a few minutes a table became available. In the bar you can only order cinceti, small snacks or side dishes, so we went for the arancini balls.

The hour’s wait in the bar passed quickly enough and we were ready to indulge in some tasty tapas. I always find when it comes to Tapas, you end up ordering far more than you initially set out to and the price tag speedily creeps up. However, although not the cheapest of places, I felt that the food and experience were worth the cost.

The menu offers a selection of Pizzette, meatballs,  fish and meat with prices ranging from £3 to £9.50. Both being lovers of goats cheese, we went for the Goats Cheese, roasted grape and honey bruschetta. Grapes with goats cheese was something I had never tried before but they worked together well to create a sweet flavour and I felt that half the bruschetta was the perfect amount. Along with the Goats cheese we had the calamari as well as the Chickpea, Spinach and Ricotta meatballs. The meatballs were absolutely lovely with thier crunchy texture and just the right amount of cheese; the calamari however was a tad disappointing. There wasn’t a huge amount of it and although healthy, we were quite disappointed it wasn’t deep-fried. Nevertheless it most certainly wasn’t left behind.

Leaving room for dessert, we chose the Nutella Pizetta, which was slightly thinner than a crepe with a more floury taste.  I don’t think you can ever go wrong with ordering a dessert that contains Nutella, however a little bit more Nutella might have made it just that extra bit more satisfying. I was also slightly put off by the sugary crystal-like balls which gave it a crunchy texture, however yet again none was left on the plate.

Two tumblers of wine  later and with a satisfied tummy , we headed off to our gig. By now it was 10p.m, therefore perfect timing to head to Madame JoJo’s for a good dance and listen to some new, fun music.

http://www.polpo.co.uk/