Bocca di Lupo

What can I say - Fay Maschler - Joint Restaraunt of the Year - after only a few weeks of opening ... WELL DONE ... Bocca di Lupo ... my partner and I are already regulars all our guests have been blown away. It's interesting as you can have 2 very differnent styles of dining you can have a meat fest and delight in all the organic flavours or you can go sea food and just die over the frutti di mare.

OR indulge in a complete medley of every flavour... like nowhere else....

Danny, Victor, Jacob, Davo and all the staff are so welcoming and so enthusiastic it feels like you've been going there all your life.

The best bit is you can just literally squeeze in on the bar if you feel the urge - although not to be advised as this restaurant is fast becoming the hottest ticket in town ... CONGRATULATIONS to Bocca di Lupo .....
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S-J
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, December 18, 2008

I visited Bocca Di Lupo last week with a friend and we had a great time (although we did get over-excited and ended up ordering way too much food).

Highlights, for us, included the crescentini (fried milk-bread with cured meats and a dollop of deliciously-ripe soft cheese) and a salad of shaved celeriac, radish and pecorino, dressed with truffle oil (which I had to wrestle back from my friend).

The service was relaxed, warm and knowledgeable and we were given excellent advice on both our food and wine choices.

I've spent the last few days recommending this restaurant to everyone I know, and already plotting my return (without my greedy, salad-hogging friend).
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Jay - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Monday, December 08, 2008

It’s that time of the year and I’ve been jumping the gun as ever with my plans to compile a list for the best eating experiences in 2008. Once again a bodacious newbie that’s impervious to current climes turns up from nowhere and causes myself to reconsider the said list.

I don’t think I’ve actually reviewed any esoteric Italian restaurants this year. Apart from a diabolically average and painfully expensive experience at Locanda Locatelli earlier in the year, I’ve never been at all tickled by the suggestion of ‘let’s have Italian today’. Churlish as it may seem, I’ve always preconceived at the idea of having an Italian meant boring pasta (which I have three times a week chez moi), wet soggy rice pud they call risotto, veal liver plus more veal liver and wait for it, horrid tiramisù.

I came across Bocca di Lupo from Jan Moir’s judicious review at Are You Ready To Order? and subsequently the godlike Fay Maschler’s tuppence worth for the ES. What drew me to this place was its offer of a melange of tapas-sized dishes inspired and drawn from the 21 regions of Italy. The location in Soho is fine by me, despite the backwater nature of it. The interior belies the street the restaurant resides, they’ve obviously budgeted without much constraints for it was pretty posh and very marginally formal in retrospect. Came to lunch with my daughter and suitably propped with a reservation in tow. She suggested that instead of settling down at our allocated table in the now very full dining room we should instead, her words, ‘do a Barrafina’ and sit at the marble-topped bar, from where we can watch the chefs at work. It was a brilliant idea as we were able to see and appreciate chef/proprietor Jacob Kenedy and his team knock up lunch for us. The service although friendly, needs more refinement and resolve; it can be achingly slow and difficult to gain any attention from either the black attired waiters or the Maître d'.

The food, oh Mama, the food was indeed beautiful and superb. The spot-on seasoned and crispy Fritto di mare of prawns, squid soft-shell crab was to all intents and purposes a universally accessible dish that appeals to everyone and anyone- my daughter has already decided on ordering this wonderful dish all for herself next time. The Fritto Romano of whole fried artichoke and veal sweetbreads was graciously paired, the former was both crispy and flavourful and the latter utterly sublime. The Swordfish 'a la Palermitana', was probably in my mind the least successful of the four mains we tried, the blandness and indifferent texture of the fish had to seek salvation from the extraordinarily good caper and ricotta salata. The highlight of Spaghettini with lobster, mussels & ginger was nothing short of a masterstroke; the beautifully cooked pasta was worthy of its adornment of sweet lobster. For pudding, how could I possibly ignore the Sanguinaccio with its noteworthy or more befittingly barmy inclusion of Pig’s blood. This chocolate spread (they call it pâté) sprinkled with pine nuts and candied peel served with sourdough bread was intense and perfectly yummy without any hint of piggyness (although the young female chef labouring in front of us begged to differ) except perhaps a trace of umami noted. My daughter’s Sicilian and Piemontese chocolates & petits-fours were altogether a thumbs-up affair but we agreed it should have been for two to share.

The yearning to come back is strong, as I’ve only sampled 6 of the 21 regions offered. The mouth of the wolf has certainly howled more than adequately to put itself on the map.
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bellaphon
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Saturday, December 06, 2008

Ate here the first week of opening and it was dead.The restaurant was a beautiful surprise with a stunning decor and cool bar.

It ticks all the currently trendy restaurant boxes, tapas style menu, carafes of wine and bar seating etc. The food was mixed in quality; sausages with farro and cepes very good, some other things cooked well but under seasoned, puddings quite basic and uninspiring.

Generally good service but with one table plus ours so it should be.
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Saturday, December 06, 2008

I've eaten here a few times since it opened, as it's just such a convenient place to meet friends for dinner in the evening.

Of all the fantastic food on the menu, my favourites are the crescentini (fried bread with italian meats and scquaceroni cheese) and the tortelli (pasta stuffed with cheese and topped with burnt walnut pesto). The desserts are brilliant and their house wine is good at a very reasonable price.

This restaurant has definitely made its way onto my list of favourites already!
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Emily
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, December 01, 2008

Bocca di Lupo is by far the best Italian restaurant I've ever come across in London.. the food is perfectly executed but not at all pretentious, and for the incredible ingredients and skill involved it is excellent value. I'd highly recommend it to anybody... great for a light lunch, or for a banquet-like feast of a dinner
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rachel
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, November 30, 2008

We ate here on Saturday 22 - never again!! We waited half an hour for a drink, although water was put on our table straight away!! The soft crab starter with prawns was tasteless and the prawns were so small it was a joke.

The exotic sounding 'rustic pork' was pork sausages - very disappointing. The lamb was asked to be cooked well done, it came VERY pink and as we'd had to wait so long for the main course we didn't send it back. The vegetables were cold and for some reason they didn't offer potatoes of any sort.

The fresh pineapple with rum initially didn't have any rum on it and after a dispute with the waiter rum was added.

The restaurant was freezing due to the air con, which after asking 4 times was turned off.

Being Soho, this obviously was not a cheap meal for 6 of us. We felt we had been totally ripped off. A dreadful meal to end what had been a very enjoyable day - never again!
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Anne
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Saturday, November 29, 2008

Four of us went for a meal last Wednesday, I believe the week it opened, and it was one one the best meals I have ever had in London. Veal sweatbreads, bonemarrow and barolo risotto were our favourites. Due to the fact that you can order a smaller, starter sized portion of pretty much any dish we shared about sixteen between us. Very fresh and original dishes. Definitely not just the usual pasta and ragu.

Great wine list - we pushed down a few bottles of Amarone! Service was spot on too!

The kitchen is completely open and you can watch your food being prepared right in front of you if you sit at the bar.

This will be my first choice for a meal out for a long time!
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Philip Waite
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, November 26, 2008