Situated within the London dwellings of Venetian painter Canaletto, it seems almost fitting that this traditional Ventian style bacaro from Polpo plates up simple but authentic dishes and drinks set against a dressed down setting akin to those found within the city itself.  Polpo Beak Street Soho is relaxed and informal in ambience with a focus entirely on socialising and of course, eating. The restaurant cashes in on the growing love for small plates (or cicchetti if you’re in Venice) and it’s this that definitely brings in the Venetian feel that food is more of a social occasion than just a necessity of life. If you’ve ever walked by a bacaro on Venice you’ll hear the laughter of locals and tourists alike spill out onto the street as they indulge in 2euro cicchetti plates and sip on a glass of ombre (white wine) or a Spritz made of Aperol or Campari.

When a table of 5 of us sat down to eat at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon, the restaurant itself was already a buzz with chatter and I was thankful I’d chosen to book online in advance.  When Polpo first opened its doors, its popularity meant that reservations weren’t available and diners would have to queue outside on the street for a table or even to grab a seat at the bar for a quick bite to eat.  That’s some New York style demand right there.  At high summer in London following a few hours at the National Gallery and Covent Garden, the afternoon called for a cooling apertivo in the form of an Aperol Spritz garnished with a green olive.  With five hungry bellies to feed, we jumped straight to the menu and reeled out a list of cicchetti dishes we’d like (all of them, FYI) followed by a selection of dishes from the pizzette, fish and meat courses.  Small plates are designed to be shared, and share we did!   Ordering 16 dishes in total between us and a couple of rounds of spritz (and red wine!) it allowed us to taste a little bit of almost everything on the menu.  Dishes are served quickly and consecutively meaning that the table is never without food.  As soon as one dish was finished, another took its place and so on.

A few cicchetti to begin with – arancini (risotto balls in a crispy breadcrumb coating), Potato & Parmesan crocchette,  / Coppa & Peperonata crostini (traditional italian pork served with sweet peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic on small slices of toasted bread)  / Stuffed fried olives / Tuna & leek crostini / Marinated baby octopuses – all akin to what you’d pick up for a a couple of euro in a traditional bacaro and each delicious in taste and texture.  The tuna and leek crostini was creamy with a crunchy base, the coppa and peperonata a sweet tang, a warm gooey taste from the arancini and the chewy almost metallic taste of the baby octopus.