Polpo

Am not a fan of tapas, went a few years ago and it was great, I remember being pleasantly surprised.

Fast forward to last week and oh how things have changed. The food is now the same bland fodder that you get in tapas 'restaurants' across the country that you could easily make yourself (and far better too) - only thing is that thanks to the wait and the drinks you buy while waiting, it came in to over £50 quid a head. Have no idea how the hell I spent that on such average/bad food. Do yourself a favour, ignore the hype - avoid.
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ted
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Friday, March 08, 2013

This is a great place place for lunch. Nice and simple dishes and a really genuinely friendly and attentive staff behind the bar. A very pleasant ambience for either an early or late lunch before the crowds gather. Cant stress how nice the staff behind the bar are..... a real joy thank you!
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dnw
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Saturday, November 03, 2012

I love the food and the decor. I don't like, but can just about get my head around (at a stretch) a no booking policy, but when I turned up early to make sure I did get a table, a bit ahead of my friends, I was told that unless they turned up pronto I would be taken off the table. Nice one.

Sort your act out Polpo,- your no bookings policy, and attitude about your table allocations, is ruining your own reputation.
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6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Friday, September 28, 2012

The service was embarrassing. We waited an 1 hour 30 mins for our table after being promised one in 50 mins which was already a long wait. No one came to offer us drinks or inform us that we would be waiting much longer than expected and we had to go and find out ourselves and the lady in charge had no answers. We even found out from the waitress that our table had been given away because she couldn't find us and even after we had chased her several times already. Not to mention that we had been stood in the same place by the entrance the whole time. We were hungry so we sat without complaining and ordered our food. The meatballs and various breads were tasty even if the waiter tried to take my plate away when I was half way through my main course! We then had to argue to get 2 cocktails taken off our bill that we didn't order and ask several times for the credit card machine to pay. He really didn't seem to know what day it was. Rude and clueless. Shame cos the meatballs were really tasty.
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Nick
5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Thursday, August 30, 2012

the food choice and place definitely have charm. however, the acoustics made it unbearable with loud music and the manager being constantly rude to us. wouldn't go back.
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jooles
4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Sunday, June 24, 2012

I was treated to a father's day meal at lunchtime so was in a good mood and appreciated the lovely light bulbs and friendly welcome.

They had made quite an effort to make the place look rustic and simple- its always expensive to make yourself look that cheap.

We ordered starters and were amazed at the tiniest of portions given to us: one small croquette potato with a hint of parmesan cheese for £3 and three tiny balls of mozzarella witha quarter inch of oven dried tomatoes. The bruscetta of soft ricotta cheese with (green) broad beans and mint leaves was succulent but the beans were undercooked, quite hard (no, forget al dente).

We were warned to order more as the main courses would not be of normal proportions. That was quite an understatement as the main courses were really starters in disguise.

The scallop and pancetta stew was very light in taste, more of a soup. The scallops were were sliced so very few were in the dish. It was well cooked but lacked spices.

My nutella pizzetta was, well, a light pizza with chocolate and hazel sauce.

My daughter's flourless orange and almond cake at last proclaimed a master chef was lurking around. It was sweet, very orangey with a delicious rich taste, offset by a slight bitter almond taste.

If I am ever not hungry I shall go there again.
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Angel
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, June 19, 2012

We went on a Wednesday night very early so no queue for the table. However we felt really rushed the entire evening, they couldn't wait to get us out of there for the next people. Also the food was unexciting and under-flavoured. So many friends had raved about this place but we were very disappointed.
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Jill Smith
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Friday, April 20, 2012

I love Polpo and frequently recommend it to friends who want good food in a buzzy environment. I work in Golden Square and use it for work lunches from time to time but it was only after a dinner visit that I felt compelled to write. The staff are all of the 'young and tattooed' variety and were very accommodating to our party. They don't take bookings in the evening (very annoying) but we waited in the bar downstairs and were sat after about 45 minutes. Not too bad. Venetian Campari drinks were excellent (can't remember name) and the Pieropan Soave was a great recommendation. Food is so consistent but I guess they do what they do well for a reason. Hits were fritto misto, ribbon steak with mushrooms, raw mackerel with cucumber and horseradish and great small pizzas - particularly the spinach and soft egg one. Risotto balls were cold but they replaced them when we pointed this out. Don't go here for dazzling cooking and quiet ambience. Do go here for good value, great buzz, and a very cool playlist.
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Sean
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Shame this place has had such a rap on here... we had a brief pre theatre meal here, and it was great.

The dishes were fab, 2 each is fine, the wine, perfectly fine in a tumbler.

Not fine dining, but a lovely place...

I agree poor service can totally make or break a restaurant, but ours was great - understood we were in a hurry and very helpful. *Really* hate 0 scores on everything... it's rarely fair, though we all have our experiences I suppose...
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John
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, February 24, 2012

If it hadn't been for the company it would have been an appalling night out. I have never been moved to write a review online before but I am so sorry that our group spent our hard-earned money here. Having been to Da Polpo I'd raved to my friends about the place and thought Polpo would be more of the same. The food was delicious, credit to the chefs but I wish the chefs had served us. Standard of cooking doesn't matter one bit if the service makes you so unhappy that you feel actually robbed of your money when you come to pay (and it's not cheap). The poor chefs should understand what a disservice is being done to them by at best complacent and at worst downright rude front of house staff. The general atmosphere created was that the waiting staff looked at us as pieces of dirt on the floor who they had to waste their valuable time serving. I understand that a front of house job is tough with tiring, antisocial hours when you would prefer to be the customer rather than the waiter, however, it is a job. I have been a waitress before and would never think to not treat my customers the way we were treated. In fact even when they were rude to me I would maintain a helpful, happy demeanour. Usually the customer was shamed into apologising as a result. The front of house team (if you can call them a team) so ruined our Friday night that we certainly won't be going back and are on a mission to tell as many people as possible to vote with their feet. The final straw was them getting our coffee order wrong and when we mentioned it to the maitre d she glared at us and said, 'well, I didn't take your order.' I should have said, 'Wrong answer!' I concur with one of the other reviewers below in the opinion that the one redeeming feature was the cheery barman downstairs who was the antithesis of the restaurant staff and made the 3 hour wait for a table bearable. There are so many better restaurants in London. Don't go here.
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Disappointed
2 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, February 22, 2012