Bocca di Lupo

Not sure if I visited on a bad day or made bad choices on the menu but I found the food quite bland and overpriced. The suckling pig which was on as a special.. the skin wasnt even crispy. Soo bad for £200 for 3 people. We had a cocktail each at the beginning which were good. Our over attentive US waiter was pretty annoying.
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Gospodja - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Quite like the menu with lots of tantalising choices but execution is not always to the point. Wine list lengthy but extremely bland choices. One of the better restaurants in this part of Soho, but too inconsistent for the prices charged.
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stewart
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Saturday, March 05, 2011

Dined at the beloved Bocca di Lupo on thursday evening (24/2) and as always, exceeded expectations. Starting with a glass of cold mousse-y prosecco we start as always with the crudita di mare and a selection of the golden crisp fritti. Bringing back memories of Rome, the suppli and stuffed olives make the perfect partner to the quality of fresh raw fish and rosemary oil. On to pasta and although stated 'very hot' we found the orrechiette with njuda more mild. Yet the hand made pasta, also available to purchase across the road in GELUPO, shone through. Simple red onion and tomato never tasted so good! A cleansing spoonful or two of my partners minestrone verde made the wait for our MASSIVE hunk of roast suckling pig and grapes all the more worthwhile. Fatty, crispy, meaty and salty pork is the most luxurious flavour when washed down with Chianti. Highlight. Our fine waiter, who seemed to balance the long marble bar of diners with ease, suggested a gelato based desert with a glass of moscato. Tentative at first, the selection of citrus gelato that landed in front of us was so far beyond what we expected. If you've tasted better 'made on premises' bergamot gelato somewhere outside of Italy, i'd like to know where. Finishing with espresso, amaro and a suprisingly moderate bill (go for wines by glass or caraffa) it makes for the perfect night out. Fantastic service from start to finish.
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Joe
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Sunday, February 27, 2011

We have recently been to this restaurant for a friend's birthday. We booked the table for 9.30pm for 10 people. When we arrived, we realised that we actually had 11 people which we thought would not be a problem due to the fact that we were sat on a large round table and the extra person was only small. Asked the Manager if it was possible to add an extra person. The Manager said that it was not at all possible which I thought a bit strange. If we had turned up with another 5 people then I could have seen the problem but one extra. I have never experienced an issue with this before. The Manager was completely unhelpful and extremely rude. Eventually we had to have another separate table away from the main party. Just before myself and two friends sat at the additional table, the Manager turned around to me and said and I quote "sit there and behave" and not believing what I had just heard and said "excuse me" and he then replied "sit there and behave". I have never ever been spoken to like this before. The Manager has serious little man issues with an attitude problem to match. The food was average, atmosphere after this incident was a bit frosty, hence no tip paid.
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David Stewart
3 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Monday, February 14, 2011

OK, so the good point is the food. It's very very good.

Now, for the rest. The service - from first contact to book the restaurant, onwards through the front of house reception (inept misrecording of the time we had booked the table and no apology - in fact, no ownership of the fact it was their mistake) the service was cavalier, a bit macho and careless.

It's like the staff have all either been in the UK too long and taken on the host culture's utter resentment at being in a 'service' industry, or just feel that it's in some way winsome or justifiable to mess up bookings (some poor sods were waiting at the door for 40 minutes for their table), fail to get orders right, and - most of all - fail to apologise or to acknowledge mistakes.

Just not good enough and so, so irritating given that the food is lovely.
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5 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 5
Monday, November 01, 2010

This has become our new favourite in Soho!

From the first moment we walked in (without a reservation), they treated us as if we were friends coming back to enjoy another meal. The fun of dining was equally matched by the cuisine.

Whether sitting at the bar or a table, the service has always been top notch.

You are spoiled for choice and more often than not, we rely on the wait staff to guide us to something exceptional.

Have tried a dozen different dishes and remain amazed at how well the chef uses unusual flavour combinations to create some excellent dishes.

The place has a good buzz and is not fussy. Great people watching.

Our only complaint would be one waiter who was going through the motions. At most restaurants, he would be the best they had; Here he looked a bit foolish.

So, go... enjoy. It has gotten hugely popular, so you now need to make sure that you have a reservation.

They have a convenient pre-theatre seating as well which is perfect as the restaurant sits in the middle of TheatreLand.
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rob
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Friday, September 24, 2010

We went to Bocca di Lupo on saturday for lunch. As starters we took crudita di mare (good) and porcini (good quality but prepared with no inspiration). As main we had large portion of grilled porcini, rustic pork and foie gras sausage (small portion) and caponata (small). We enjoyed the sausage but caponata and the porcini were not tasty. The cook managed to drown the porcini in oil and added to much garlic. In fact we couldn't taste any porcini at all (what a shame considering the GBP 24), the caponata also drown in oil and slushy. We had wine by the glass nero d'avola (2) and hiera (1) which was very nice. We liked the atmosphere at the bar, however the service was poor (quite friendly but slow and unheeding). The bill came at GBP 99 (inkl 12.5% for above plus single espresso and bottle of water). We think thats way too much for quantity and quality (of preperation).
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Marc & Anna
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Sunday, September 19, 2010

I am making an effort to review the places I like, rather than use this as a complaint forum!

Well, the food here was amazing. We had a brilliant starter: a salad of black and red radishes in truffle dressing. Followed by daily special, aubergine parmagana and a salt baked sea bass and a couple of desserts. Loved it all.

The poundage compared to the quality is pretty good where the bill came to £75 after a few glasses of preseco and coffees.

Italians can easily bore and when the food is even made well can fall short of inspiring.

This place, however, tantalized my taste buds.
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Simon Shaer - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 8
Sunday, September 12, 2010

When we first arrived the atmosphere was buzzing and we were professionally whisked to our seats at the chef's counter. Which gave us an amazing view of the chefs cooking at tremendous speed and agility. We started off the evening with a glass of prosecco, and then ordered six small plates to enable to experience more flavours.

The shaved radish, cleriac & pecorino salad with pomegranates and truffle oil, was stunning. With even the small dish being enough for two to share. We also tried the artichoke a la guida, which looked like a golden flower when presented. Unfortunately it was a little too greasy for my tastes, but what did I expect ordering a fried dish?!

The next four dishes we ordered were nettle and chard pasta with walnut sauce, which was lovely. I just wanted that dish to continue forever. The oven backed pollack with tomatoes and olives, just felt like something I was fed as a child by my Italian mother. So I was smitten with dish too. The other two dishes were sides, however one being the a tomato and olive panzarella and the other a broad bean, pea and onion dish. Both were of a very high standard.

All this while watching the chefs go about their amazing job.

We washed this down with a Sicilian Grillo, which was very fresh. Unfortunately our waiter forgot to bring the bottle over and we had to remind him, which put us off him a little.

We finished the meal with a couple of glasses of Moscato di Noto. We had an amazing experience that evening, however near the end of the night, our aforementioned waiter brought over a pasta bought written by the head chef for us to view and potentially buy, which we thought was a bit much.

Overall, the food was amazing, our seats directly in front of the chefs were great, wine very good, however the pushy waiter, not so much.
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tino
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Friday, June 04, 2010

You have to choose CAREFULLY at Bocca di Lupo. Had a rather disappointing experience there recently. I am perfectly aware of the fact that good ingredients cost good money, but some of the dishes here take the biscotto.

Nine quid for a few cubes of Mortadella accompanied by some perspiring cubes of parmesan which had taken on a clay-like texture due to lack of fluids. A similar price for a kind of fritto misto - two prawns, six pieces of squid - two tentacles, six rings and a few aubergine batons - now that's just ridiculous.

To be fair though, excellent beef tagliata and a fantastic 'rustic' pork and foie gras sausage served with pearl barley.

The quality of food here, for the most part, is great. The service a little skittish. But the key thing is that I left feeling, to be honest, pretty ripped off.
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Pheasant Plucker
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Sunday, May 23, 2010