Spuntino

Spuntino is a fun place to go with a great atmosphere. It's worth visiting for this alone but having been once we're unlikely to return. Sliders were nice but basically you're paying £5 for a quarter of a burger - you do the math.

Mains were less good. We had the cuttlefish with butter beans which was homogenous but ok. The spicy sausage with polenta was fennel sausage in an uninteresting tomato sauce.

Go, enjoy the music, check out the decor, chat to the staff, emerge from an unmarked door in soho but don't expect to be wowed by what you eat.
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Midlander - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Saturday, February 25, 2012

Unlike other reviewers, I do not understand the hype.

The decor is well done, dim lit, modern speakeasy type of place, but not anything atypical of hundreds of places in east London. I think what this restaurant has done is very cleverly marketed the hipster movement in east London at tourists and soho-ites that wouldn’t be caught dead in a bar restaurant in old street (judging by the clientele)

The food was very good, enjoyed the sliders and soft shell crab. Unfortunately value for money isn’t great. £35 a head and me and my boyfriend left so hungry we went to another restaurant for starters and dessert (we're not huge eaters either, I'm a size 8). Maybe it’s more suited to a light lunch or late dinner in that case I would have enjoyed it much more, even if a little expensive.

About the queues, I know this was the restaurant all the critics were talking about so it should be expected, but no one should have to wait over an hour to be seated; stood up in a cramped bar only to leave hungry. On the other hand service once seated was good.

In summary come here, if you're a 30 something banker with a small appetite, trying to impress a 20yr old that your still cool, or you want to show your friends out of London how hipster you are without actually visiting east London.
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Elisabeth Roberts
5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 0
Sunday, February 19, 2012

Believe the hype. Brilliant atmosphere, fun food that tastes great, good cocktails and interesting enough wines. If you don't mind a queue and you want a place with buzz, there's nothing not to like. Oh, and be sure to order the truffled egg on toast thing.
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Dan - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Brunched at Spuntino's today, my New York friend and I were greatly impressed with Rachel's scrumptious cooking, with the wonderful "industrial" Brooklyn diner interior! and the very good looking staff, a fun place, which takes it "little snack" food concept to another level, a gem in Soho! my friend is still saying how it made her London visit. Thank you Spuntino!
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Christine
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Thursday, May 26, 2011

I'd wandered past Spuntino a couple of times this week and decided to go for an early lunch today, not really wanting to stand in line at peak time.

I had, also, read alot of glowing reviews for the place, in blogs and print and was quite excited, I guess, at trying something different.

My first impressions were great. I really like the approach to decor in the venue and the relaxed atmosphere and music. It's very much an idealised 'dustbowl' version of the American diner, crossed with a nod to Little Italy along the way.

I started off with the aubergine fries with fennel dip and a beef and bone marrow slider, both delicious and gone within five minutes.

I followed it up with the truffled egg on toast; Good, but not so good I'd wax lyrical about it like some others. I'm sitting here dealing with the aftermath of that slab of fat and carbs.

Being midday, booze was off the menu for me, but the selection looked good, nice and short and not pricey, which fits the schtick of the place.

Overall, the place lives up to expectations, I'd go again, in the evening when I imagine it would be very noisy and probably bags of fun, especially after a couple fo the classic cocktails on offer.

Worth it.
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David Jenkins - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Friday, May 20, 2011

Nice food (soft shell crab, burger, shoestring fries are fun to eat) but more expensive than Polpo. A bit too try hard trendy but a fun alternative from the other restaurants Polpo and Polpetto.
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Gospodja - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Thursday, May 12, 2011

Fantastic eatery at bar, fun staff, guy next to us recommended smoke mackerel (we ordered it and it was a super recommendation), truffle oil toast was yummy and filling. I saw the marcaroni cheese come out the kitchen and know I need to go back next time for this dish...

A quirky, laid back fun venue with good food...
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8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, May 01, 2011

Every mouthful was absolutely delicious. Cannot fault it !

Can't decide on a best dish as they were all so good.

Truffled egg toast, gooey & cheesy, mac n cheese fantastic.

Try the peanut butter & jelly sandwich for afters !
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Little Mumbles
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, April 26, 2011

I came to bury, not to praise. After all, we don't really like a winner in this country, not if we’re honest. And particularly not one who manages to make it appear so effortless. We prefer those who huff and puff and manage to succeed almost despite themselves, like Kenny Dalgleish. So Russell Norman, already the proprietor of two massively popular and critically lauded Italian tapas joints (Polpo and Polpetto as you're asking) was really pushing his luck. And how does he do with the third? Yawn, damn near faultless again... How bloody dull.

This one's no bigger than the bathrooms in Spice Market, the hollow gilded cage of gaud currently parting stupid people and the idle rich from their readies in Leicester Square. And no, you won't find me reviewing it soon. I've already had a hollow chuckle at the pricing on its tired fusion menu and spent far too much for far too little in its New York sibling to fall for that trick again. Spuntino probably cost as much as one of the gold taps.

That's not saying it isn't designed. Norman really gets how important the look and feel of his joints is to the atmosphere. All have subtle similarities, but fit their homes like well worn hipster jeans. They peeled back the interior panelling on this old bottle shop on Rupert Street and allegedly found the most gorgeous open brickwork and Victorian tiling... Swine. A few architectural prints and oddities artfully thrown up and you’re done. The restaurant, if you can call it that, comprises 20 odd seats round a battered zinc bar that's been there for years (since opening last month). It looks beautiful. Passing Shoreditch design Nazis lie fitting and frothing on the floor outside. Grabbing a seat is a total lottery here though, no reservations mean little chance at busy times unless you’re prepared to watch and wait. Turn up as we did, a pair of Soho irregulars dubiously justifying a meeting on a late afternoon, go early (they open at eleven) or whistle for it, your call.

Like the others, there's a simple selection of wines by the carafe or the tumbler next to a short menu of mouth watering small plates on a paper placemat. Some of the dishes port across from the Venetian tapas roots of the other restaurants; a sweet and butter soft zucchini (more on the language in a bit), mint and chilli pizzetta with a moreishly crispy base wouldn’t look out of place on either menu, soft-shell crab is a favourite and there’s a small selection of different bruchetta. I was more interested in the transatlantic dishes featured. The Mac n Cheese arrived with the gents next to us, a hangover cure sent from heaven. Darkly crispy breadcrumb topped oozing cheese arrived in an enormous Staubb style pan. A steal for £8 and more than enough for one, though judging by the clash of forks next to us, not quite enough for two. We sampled the sliders, another obvious Americanism, this year’s I don’t know what (a Spanish themed version also appears on the menu of The Opera Tavern) and destined to be copied repeatedly and badly elsewhere. We took three from the selection of four; firm spicy sea-salty mackerel, salt beef with Lilliputian cornichons and small beef bombs, made further moist with bone marrow and cooked to a deep salmon pink precision within their coating of cheese, nestled into tiny white buns, chewy firm enough to stand guard against the mingling juices.

We’d also sneaked in a portion of chewy eggplant chips dipped into a fennel yogurt. Interesting, the cold fennel dip was a good twist, but not up there with Zucca’s, admittedly different, Fritti. Worth more than a mention though were the deep-fried olives for which I’ll turn to Mr Hugh Wright, proprietor of www.twelvepointfivepercent.com and as delightfully acerbic and well written gentleman as you’ll ever read. "Hot, bitter, salty anchovy-farced pellets of pleasure, laced for all I know with a sprinkling of crack in the crispy crumb encasing them." Words to make you smile.

Do try and come. It’s worth the (repeated) effort to slide into one of the fixed bar seats, and is in itself as effortlessly cool as the well drilled and friendly rockabilly bar team. So move over Paul Raymond, there's a new king of Soho.
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Grumbling Gourmet
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, April 13, 2011

I adore this tiny restaurant. Having repeatedly visited Polpo and Polpetto, I knew roughly what to expect, but the food here is completely different. Drawing on a broadly American cookbook, and specifically New York, the menu varies from egg and soldiers to Brick Lane bagel, and peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I wasn't able to try everything, but the truffle egg toast is incredible. The soft shell crab not quite as good as Polpetto. The brick lane bagel not quite as good as Brick Lane, but then nothing tastes better than a brick lane bagel at 3am after a few jars, so it's an unfair comparison really. The other highlight was the peanut butter and jelly ice-cream sandwich. Just delightful! I love the space, the creativity of the food, the playfulness of it all, the variety of tastes and textures, and the fact that it feels completely different to anything else London is offering at the moment. Plus it's cheap.. good luck getting a table though as there are only 26 covers.
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Digitalgoldfish
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, April 11, 2011