da Polpo

The Boyfriend's move to Covent Garden three months ago was easily the best decision ever. Not only do we have Opera Tavern, my new favourite place, Machiavelli and Laduree but now we have da Polpo, yet another Russell Norman restaurant. 








I am sad to admit, I have never been to Polpo or Polpetto, but Spuntino his third restaurant, I completely adored. Given his first two restaurants were Italian Cichetti restaurants that got and still get rave reviews I was really excited to try da Polpo, his fourth restuarant which is of a similar ilk.

Like the others, da Polpo doesn't take bookings, which makes it an altogether more stressful process in my opinion. Luckily, when The Boyfriend and I arrived at 7pm, we were quickly seated at the bar. It has a lot of the same features as Spuntino, those hanging lightbulbs, silver bar, wine glasses that are drinking glasses and the menu printed on the placemat. Its a little less dingy and cool then Spuntino, but no less agreeable.

We started with olives and a caraffe of white wine. 

Next came some complimentary focaccia with something . The Boyfriend declared it " the best amuse bouche ever". High praise.

Next came parmesan and potato croquette - a fancy tater tot that reminded me of school lunches in the U.S. Although the parmesan was hardly noticeable.

Pizzetti Bianca arrived shortly after. It was good aside from the veins of red onion that ran through it that added an unneccessary bitterness. 

Fritto Mixto was the first of the second round of the courses. The batter had stuck to the fish in a very uneven fashion and yet it was still enjoyable. However, a sauce of some sort would have really added to the experience.

The prawns with garlic and butter were to die for. They practically melted in ones mouth.

The Spaghettini with meatballs were average. Satisfying and good, but nothing to write home about. The Boyfriend was really not a fan, he thought the whole dish was bland.

Stuffed but still able to eat we finished with a wonderful dessert.  A bellini inspired sorbet concept that involved peach puree, Prosecco sorbet and lemon sorbet. It was incredibly refreshing and a great way to finish the meal.

We sat at the bar and the staff were friendly. The service was a little relaxed. This isn't a place where they will be jumping to top up your glass but that kind of works with the environment. It came to around £55.00 for two and it would be easy to eat here for around 15.00 a head. A tad more cheaper than Spuntino. I'm not dying to return, but when I went it had been open only for two days so I'm guessing the food will improve, however the queues will get worse in the coming fortnight or so.