Bocca Di lupo
12 Archer street, London, WID7BB, T: +4402077342223
Its strange how England isn`t infamous about its food (or pretty much known how bad it is) its also known about their celebrity chefs, and World known restaurants. But even in London, where are foood shops, cafes, bistros and restaurants on every step, we need to look around where we eat, and how much we are willing to pay for it.
Couple of month ago, while reading Jamie Oliver`s magazine, I discovered a restaurat called Bocca di Lupo. The article went on and on about the regional Italian cusine, and how fantastic that they also offer the famous, supplis, and other well know fried goods from italian panetterias and cafe`s. Then I realised, even tho there are so many italain shops, restaurants, bars around here, i havent seen these kind of offers anywhere in England. The place is located in the heart of Soho-where I have this habbit to get lost frequently, its nice to wonder around there with a known destination.
So, italian restaurant, mostly italian staff as well. The inner design is posh and fabulous. Its tuesday night and jam packed, we can only take a seat at the bar. The wait staff is friendly and casual, they are all busy, but smiling and having fun. We dont mind the bar, at least we can see the chefs in action at the very much open kitchen. Theres complimentary olives and freshly baked bread, so the dinner starts with a very good kick.
We pick a selection of starters for share from the fried goods. We pick the suppli (fried cheesy rice), deep fried bocconcini and fried artichoke. They are nice but bough of us had better before. The suppli is a bit dry, but its nicely seasoned. The artichoke looks funky but the tastes more like oil. The coat on the cheese is a bit thick, not letting to melt the bocconcini inside. Comparing to the simplicity of these starters its also a bit overprised for my taste. Meanwhile we ordered a glass of house rose and a bellini. The service is very fast, the rose is nice and dry, the cocktail is perfect as well. Looking at the menu we find some very authentic regional dishes, also what we really liked is, that they noted where in which region these meals are popular, or where they are originated from. An other advantage of sitting at the bar is, that we have a nice view on the dishes, which help us picking the perfect meal.
As main, my boyfriend orders pork and foie gras sausage, with spinach on the side. Im having tomato and pine nut tortelli. Theres nothing better then fresh hand made pasta. The sauce is nicely seasoned as well. From some of the dishes the guests can order a smaller or bigger portion. Im having a small pasta as i would like to try some dessert as well. To be perfectly honest, i wasnt too impressed by the sausage as i couldnt really taste the foie gras. But the spinach was a big suprise. It was cold! It was fantastic! And the lemony sour taste made it even more perfect.
If You are dining at Bocca di lupo, the Canolli for dessert is a must try. An authentic sicillian sweet, with ricotta and pistachios. Its easy to tell its many costumers favourite, by the amount they sold in an hour.
The restaurant was a nice experience, its a bit pricy, but if you are a foody, its a shame not to try it. Our bill was about 80 Pounds, for 2 main courses, a starter selection a dessert, 2 house roses, 1 cocktail and 2 bottles of mineral water. I would advice for a reservation!
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