Polpo

I have visited Polpo twice now ....

The first was a few weeks after it had opened, in the midst of all the media hype, on a Friday night around 9pm. We had been to the cinema, were looking forward to a glass of wine and did not mind the 45 minute wait, standing at the bar snacking on delicious crostini. The atmosphere in the restaurant is rustic, candle lit tables, dim lighting, it was buzzy, loud and fun and everything we ate was absolutely delicious. We tried an array of different dishes, the grilled flank steak with mushrooms melted in your mouth, the pork belly was perfect and the fritto misto was just as it should be - fresh and crispy. We came away feeling like we had found a real Venetian gem in the heart of Soho.

Unfortunately, most of London (and most tourists) appear to have discovered the same gem. From last night's experience, I think Polpo must have been written up in every Time Out guide to London as it seemed to be full of tourists - with their backpacks. Once again, we sat at the bar near the entrance, and were told at 7pm it would be a 45 minute wait which we did not mind. 7pm is too early to eat anyway. The problem was we may as well have been sitting in the middle of Piccadilly Circus, partly due to the tourists, but mainly due to the fact that we were jostled, pushed and shoved by all the punters arriving in the hope of a table. The problem is that when you arrive you have to go to the other end of the bar to put your name down for a table. Perhaps the manager / maitre d' should be positioned nearer the door so that everyone who comes in and is then turned away (having been told the waiting time is now an hour and a half), does not have to pass through the bar area, knocking other diners off their stools and spilling their wine as they stomp out grumpily because they cannot get a table. The 45 minute wait turned into an hour and a quarter but it was most unrelaxing and one drinks slightly more than one should on an empty stomach. The food was distinctly average, nothing to write home about. They seemed to be 'churning' it out a bit last night and sitting near the back bar one notices the plates of food lined up on the counter waiting to be delivered to their tables. It reminded me slightly of a fast food joint and everything we ate could have been slightly warmer.

It does not end up being that cheap, I am not sure where the average spend of '£24 a head' comes from, especially if you have waited that long and are on your third carafe of wine by the time you sit down for dinner. Overall, I am not sure the experience is worth waiting an hour and a quarter for. Personally, I think the food needs to be of a much higher standard for one to be happy with waiting that long ... but Polpo will continue to pull in the punters (and the tourists) because most people love the idea of it (the tapas/small dishes/sharing plates), and let's be honest, most are not that fussed about the quality of the food they are eating.
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AAB
7 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Friday, March 12, 2010

Even on a Monday night this place is busy! We weren't too bothered whether we sat in the restaurant or at the bar, so after a 10-min wait we sat at the bar. The food was good, the wine was lovely - the barman really knew his stuff and we had a lovely bottle of red wine!

Now the food.... it wasn't as good as the last night I came. We ordered two bread things - one with smoked salmon and the other with proscuitto (sp?) and arrancini to 'start'. The arancini were not cooked properly and should have been more gooey... the breads themselves were tiny! I then had the fritto misto - this was a nice size and was lovely but it lacked some kind of sauce - maybe a lemon mayonnaise? My partner had a small meat dish which he enjoyed as well.

All in all, it cost £60, around £35 of that was on wine... the food is overpriced for what it is... but I like the place itself and would return, probably for just a drink next time.
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- View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Friday, March 12, 2010

have been for lunch several times. great service, lovely food, fun atmosphere and good value for money.
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8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, March 02, 2010

My second visit to this restaurant, (the first being a bad experience as all the food was cold...but I'm one for second chances) was horrendous.

Myself and two others waited patiently just inside the to door be seated.The door opened and in barged two food critics with friends.They barged past my friend, practically shoving her out the way and the were then seated, all seven of them, before us and before another group waiting.

We waited for around an hour to be seated and when I asked why they had been seated before people who had been waiting ages, was told it was because there was 7 of them! didnt make sense...two tables of four can also be used by two groups of 3 as myself and the other waiting party was.

The food was mediocre at best but at least I now know why they are getting such good reviews.
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Julia
4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, March 02, 2010

We went there last saturday for dinner which is our second visit, as their food are not bad so this time we decided to bring in one guest. My partner popped in during lunch and tried to book a table but their policy is not allow to book for dinner (I don't have any comment if they can be handle the over crowded situation and well organized like WAHACA). I know they are busy during saturday so to make sure we get the table we went there at 6:15pm. I ask for a table for 3 and the waitress said it won't be long, after 5 mins she bring us to the table for 2 and I told her that I am asking for table for 3 and my guest is on the way, She said she cannot give us a table until my friend arrived (which is fair enough although they have quite a few empty table) she put our name down and we were standing right in front of the door to 'washroom' and anyone going to the washroom were asking whether we are in the queue because their bar is too crowded. after about 10 mins our friends arrived but there is another 45mins wait, during the wait we have been told by different staff every 10-15 mins that our table is available very soon either they are still having dessert etc but funny things each time they pointed to different direction. If they know is going to be an hour wait they should have let us know so that we can come lather. Finally we saw 3-4 tables leave and being told they are setting the table but we see various people behind the cue being allocated seats and non of them is for us. We are so angry and catch one of the waitress and she said they all came before us and they always do things 'fairly'. I said no I am pretty sure because we were standing there since 6:15pm then she change: we can't seat you there because you only have 3 people and they are table for 4!!!! which means she did seat some late comer because they are 4 and we only have 3. I don't know how much they all spending but our bill is £100 (including 12.5% service charge which is incredible for this level of service).

Finally she offer us to at seat at the bar, we don't mind as we all extremely hungry after 1.5 hour wait or we will leave. the table not very clean but what do you expect as only two staff working in the bar to take care of 10 customer (sit around the bar which having meal) and he have to make & serve drink (to those standing around in the queue) at the same time.

The food is tasty but doesn't worth for 1.5 hour waiting and portions are a bit small for the price! I suggest they employ a well experience & organized manager to taking care of the shop floor or they will lose a lot of value customer.
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Ann
4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Disappointed with the food and it's not worth waiting in a queue for.

They were however, excellent at fetching us a drink and cicheti while we waited. In fact, service, both in the queue, and throughout the evening was good, efficient and friendly. Wine list is nice and concise and very reasonably priced. The two cheapest red wines were fine, nothing amazing but good value and drinkable for a quick budget supper. Chicheti whilst waiting were a bit average - salt cod on polenta was tasty enough, prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella on a slice of bread was fine, but you can't really muck that up. Arancini however was both pointless and tasteless.

At the table we had white bean bruschetta - very nice and the two veg dishes - spinach and roast potatoes were distinctly average. We were disappointed with our meat dishes - plate of cold meats was OK, but overpriced and under sized for £11.80. The bit of mozzarella on the cold meats was too chilled and not the best quality. Slow roast duck with tomatoes, olives and peppercorns was a rather bland and swimming around in so much tomato sauce it didn't look that appetizing. And the Cotechino sausage with Savoy cabbage and mustard - dreadful! My friend commented it was ''a bit German''. Three thin slices of luke-warm, floppy pink sausage, on a bed of shredded cabbage and onions with mustard slopped on the side left us feeling greasy. They actually forgot to bring us this dish first of all (the only point where service slipped up - perhaps they were trying to tell us something) and we wished we'd never bothered reminding them. Desserts were another let down - warm chocolate pot was hot chocolate, orange and almond cake with marscapone had the smallest amount of marscapone on it I have ever seen and i've had better cakes in several cafes, walnut and honey semifreddo, nice but wouldn't go back for it. The panforte were another shock - described as being similar to a toffee, with chocolate and nuts, we were disappointed to be presented with 2 cubes of dry fruitcake.

When mains were cleared and we expressed our disappointment with the sausage dish in particular, our waiter said we really should have had the pork belly, frito misto and the cuttlefish instead. If these are the only things they can do right, why bother offering anything else? And how can a menu as short as Polpo's contain weak dishes? The room and atmosphere is lovely though, and i guess at £30 a head it's not a bank breaker. But if they expect people to leave their house and pay good money they need to improve several of their dishes. If you can book for a quick lunch and have no expectations then it's certainly not bad and it is more rewarding than most other cheap eats in Soho, although with Dehesa, Brindisa and Bocco di lupo round the corner they have some competition.
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Hedgie - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Thursday, February 11, 2010

Distinctly average. Too much hype may have caused it not to be able to live up to expectation.

Roast potatoes were definitely a day old and hardly even reheated, all other food under seasoned. Our waitress was good but there seemed a gang of others simply hanging around and joking amongst themselves. Girl who seated us obviously does not take orders and was therefore merely greeted with a sneer when I wanted to order off her. Stunning that the place was packed at 6.15pm on a Tuesday.
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4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, February 09, 2010

POLPO - In short a terrible Saturday night experience.

We are told at 8.30pm that the wait is 2 hours so decide to come back after an 1 1/2 hour to discover we have been taken out of the list.

We decide to wait for other 45 mins (the estimated time for a seat)…While we are having wine at the bar we see various people behind the cue being allocated seats - we therefore wonder politely to the waiter to enquire on the state of art and are just told the wait will be longer (no particular reason behind it, and no chance to discuss on the merits of the unfair allocation). Despite being very hungry we wait and comment in Italian that we have been unlucky ("Siamo stati sfortunati").

Shortly after the same waiter, claiming to be the owner (who as far as we know is Italian so should have understood what we said) comes up to us and asks us to leave as we used abusive language telling us not to "worry about the wine"

Despite being puzzled and somehow shocked about this situation (no one ever asked me to leave a restaurant in my life!) we do not have a free ride, pay for the drinks (leaving more than half of the bottle at the bar) and leave, to say the least disappointed

I now wonder - was it worth waiting 3 hours on a Saturday night ? The food after all looked fairly average

Perhaps a crash course in Italian and one in good manners would be good for the staff so that these type of embarrasing situations do not arise in the nearby future.
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Partenope
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Monday, February 08, 2010

This is one of the best places I discovered in 2009. I went there during Xmas time.

Was lucky enough to book a table 2 hours before we arrived.

Good: Food is incredibly tasty and simple. Price is great considering it is in the middle of Soho. Service: quick and polite

Bad: Decorations are a mixed bag and can put someone off. They only accept max 4 people so if you are a group it's not the place for you. Space is limited and you will end up eating close to someone else.

Overall I will definitely return to Polpo as it's a no frill experience and the food is amazing. I can't wait to order the frittura
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Nicola - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 10
Friday, January 08, 2010

I thought there would be nothing else to add to the media frenzy surrounding “Polpo”, the new Italian darling and makers of cicheti or small-eats, or tapas or whatever-you-wanna-call-it in Soho. It’s been blogged and highly praised by just about every food blogger in London – but after my disappointing meal there last Saturday, I thought I would put pen to paper and dare to differ.

First impressions were excellent – the décor was charming, the front-of-house staff very friendly and the place nearly full and buzzing with a beautiful and trendy crowd at 5:45pm.

We started the evening by ordering a couple of their breads, “White Bean Bruschetta” @ £4 and “Wild Mushroom Piadina” @ £4.80, followed by a selection of “cicheti and crostini”. The white beans had been cooked in rosemary and were very aromatic and perfectly al dente, a good Italian version of beans on toast. The “Piadina” was similar to a crepe and was filled with fried wild mushrooms. Both breads were nicely prepared although the portions were ludicrously small. We ordered two portions of each, and struggled to share them among the five of us.

Our selection of “cicheti and crostini” included “arancini” @ £1.50, “anchovy & chick pea crostini” @ £1.10, “potato and parmesan croquette” @ £1.20 and “salt cod on grilled polenta” @ £2.10.

I love Italian “baccala” (salted cod), and cook it frequently at home – I have made a similar dish of flaked salted cod with parsley, garlic and olive oil over grilled polenta a few times at home. These intensely flavoured ingredients should balance beautifully with the blander polenta, and when well made this dish is truly heavenly. Polpo’s version however was very disappointing – the polenta was cold and soggy, and the salted cod completely tasteless. We ordered three pieces and we all agreed they were rather poor.

The “arancini” were tiny and very uninspiring, and so were the “anchovy & chick pea crostini” and “potato and parmesan croquettes”. I tried a bit of each, and struggle to find anything at all to say about them. Completely “passable” comes to mind.

The more “substantial” meat and fish dishes that we ordered included “Slow Roasted Duck” @ £6.10, “Calves Liver, Onion and Sage” @ £5.90, “Grilled Flank Steak with Mushroom” @ £6.90, and “Fritto Misto” @ £6.60. We also ordered a portion of “Pork Belly, Radicchio and Hazelnuts” @ £5.70 but it never turned up.

Two of these dishes were good – the calves liver was well cooked, although not as delicately flavoured and soft as it should have been, while the “fritto misto” (deep fried whitebait and seafood) was crisp and utterly delicious.

The flank steak was beautifully presented but in my opinion lacked seasoning, and the slow roasted duck was unexciting. It was served in a pool of tomato sauce and did not look terribly appetizing. All portions were very ungenerous.

To accompany the above we also ordered a portion of “Roast Potatoes and Rosemary” @ £3.70, “Grilled Polenta” @ £3 and “Fennel, Curly Endive and Almonds” @ £3.90. These were all well made and flavoursome, but again the portions were minute.

For pudding, we had a few “Affogato al caffe” @ £2.60 each (vanilla ice cream immersed in espresso coffee), “Flourless Orange & Almond Cake” @ £4.40, and “Honey & Walnut Semifreddo” @ £3.80. The affogato tasted just right - both the ice cream and the coffee were of high quality.

The orange and almond cake was light and delicious, and I enjoyed it immensely. I did not try the semifreddo but John seemed impressed with his choice.

The wine list was impressive and reasonably priced, with bottles of white and red starting at £15 through to £38. Polpo serves most of its whites and a few reds in 250ml and 500ml measures at no extra cost. A bottle of 750ml will cost £15 while 500ml & 250ml measures will cost £10 and £5 respectively. This is a nice thought, and the flat pricing structure should encourage wine drinkers to try different wine combinations to accompany their cicheti.

My dinner companions were old friends from a wine club I used to belong to in Dulwich (Dulwich Wine Society), and therefore our wine choices were good but rather pricey. We had a couple of bottles of Gavi (white) @ £30 each and two of Barbera (red) @ £21 each. The total bill came to £208, including service, or £42 per person. The general consensus was that it was a disappointing and expensive meal and some of us were still peckish at the end of it.

Verdict – A clear example of style over substance. Good deep fried fish, good desserts, excellent wine list but tiny, ridiculously tiny portions. Some of the dishes were seriously disappointing for a restaurant currently the subject of such hype. I am not planning a return visit.
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The London Foodie - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Sunday, December 20, 2009