Polpo - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  Italian / Tapas

Cost: 

Rating: 

Where?:  41, Beak Street, Soho, London. W1F 9SB.

Closest station(s):  Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road.   

Telephone: 0207 734 4479

Website: www.polpo.co.uk     

I apologise for adding tapas to cuisine type above as Polpo is not a tapas restaurant; it is the Italian equivalent, namely a bacaro. Polpo has received a huge amount of media attention and on this occasion it is certainly well deserved. Everything about the restaurant seems to have been done to minimise stress and allow you to have a relaxed and enjoyable evening.  

The menu offers a selection of small dishes, ideal for sharing. This includes a selection of cicheti - tiny plates of food starting from £1.00 (I am surprised to see you can get anything in London for that price these days). Small plates at low prices allows you to have a wide array of food to graze on whilst there.

The food has been excellent each time I have been; on the last occasion I went the highlights were the mackerel tartare, the fritto misto, the polpette and a duck ragu that was bewilderingly unctuous and packed with flavour. At around £5 a plate for the larger plates it is very reasonably priced – the house wine at £18 is extremely quaffable.

Polpo only allows you to book tables for lunch. I am in two minds as to whether the lack of evening booking is a good thing or not; it is great for those occasions that you are in Soho and want a lively atmosphere and great food but haven’t booked – the great shame is that it is so popular you can often find yourself waiting for half an hour or more for a table; during which time it is very easy to get carried away at the bar.

Overall I have great affection for Polpo; the staff are friendly, you get to try lots of delicious morsels, the cooking is excellent and it has a lively buzz throughout the day and evening. 

El Rincon Latino - Restaurant Review

Cuisine:  Tapas

Cost: 

Rating: 

Where?:  148, Clapham manor Street, Clapham Common, London. SW4 6BX.

Closest station(s):  Clapham Common, Clapham High Street Rail, Clapham North.

Telephone: 0207 622 0599

Website: www.rinconlatino.co.uk   

I’m not quite sure why but the front of El Rincon Latino made me think of an S&M club – having never been to an S&M club I don’t know what they look like, however if I had to hazard a guess I would guess a brooding black frontage with spikey metal railings might be about right.  

Despite knowing Clapham well I had never come across El Rincon previously and as soon as I stepped inside I thought that I was going to enjoy my evening. The place was heaving; when I asked for a table I was informed that we would have to wait at the bar until one became free but that it shouldn’t be more than 15 minutes.

The bar was already packed with people eating, though we managed to find a small gap where we could wait with a glass or two of bubbles to while away the waiting time. Looking through the restaurant it is much bigger than one would first image upon entry and there were lots of large groups. The atmosphere had a real buzz to it, without it being deafening or oppressive.  

Having been seated we started tucking into the perfectly acceptable house Rioja (£15.95) and awaited our mammoth selection of dishes. To my surprise rather just this being a buzzy restaurant with average food; this turned out to be a buzzy restaurant with good food – there was not a dud in our selection. The highlights were the calamares, Higado encebollado (calves liver) and the garlic prawns. Not usually being one for eating greenery in Tapas restaurants I was expecting to leave much of the Ensalada Rincon to my dining partner; it was however excellent – an odd mixture of salad leaves, asparagus, cheese and olives that accompanied the fish and meat dishes very well and made me feel slightly better about an otherwise unhealthy meal.  

El Rincon Latino is a great restaurant for the price, it isn’t out of this world food; however at around £6 a plate (surprisingly large portions) it was well worth it. It would be a great place to go with a large group or just when you feel like going somewhere with a decent whack of atmosphere. 

La Movida - Restaurant Review

Cuisine: Spanish / Tapas

Cost:

Rating:

Where?:  300,  Battersea Park Rd, Battersea. SW11 3BU.

Closest station(s): Battersea Park, Queenstown Road, Clapham Junction.

Telephone:  0207 924 2595

Website: N/A

Certainly one of my finds of the year. Having been past this unassuming restaurant on many occasions it certainly isn’t a restaurant that will be drawing people in off the street. This family run restaurant cannot be said to be pretty and the fact that it is rarely busy does little to suggest that it would be worth a go. How wrong I was.

Finding myself in the area with a penchant for tapas I decided to give it a stab, nothing ventured nothing gained. From start to finish there was little to fault from this friendly and relaxed venue. The liver was possibly the finest I have had and the squid was cooked to perfection. The prices are extremely reasonable; most dishes for around £5; in addition to which there has been a 50% off deal running three nights a week for the past few months.

The wine list cannot be said to amaze however it provides a perfectly good selection of wines with which to wash down the great food, again at extremely modest prices. My greatest worry is that the lack of business will see it go under as it really is a gem of a restaurant. When looking for great tapas which won’t leave too great a dent in your wallet then La Movida would be difficult to top. It would also be a great place for large groups.