LISTINGS RESTAURANTS

Restaurants: Italian stallion

The restaurant choice in Soho can

overwhelm. Alex Dalzell discovers

the pick of the pile at Bocca di Lupo

The labyrinth of Soho’s back streets often disorients my deliriously hungry mind into grabbing the nearest menu offering a fi xed price feed. But this time I had a plan: with street map in hand, I hot-footed to Archer Street’s new Bocca di Lupo Italian restaurant, London’s latest foody phenomenon.

My dining companion and I were shown to our stools at the ‘Chef’s Counter’ — a long, polished white-marble bar overlooking the open kitchen, where four chefs cooked endless dishes for the full-to-capacity restaurant.

We scanned the daily-changing menu
of more than 22 traditional dishes representing most of Italy’s 20 regions — each available in small or large portions. “There’s no starter, main or dessert here, sir,” piped in our fl awless waiter before recommending we mix, match and share.

We started with the spinach & ricotta Malfetti, then the melt-in-the-mouth Sicilian swordfi sh, followed by the utterly fl avoursome Tuscan rib of beef with parmesan, rocket and rosemary — a chunk of meat that was so popular there were at least two being fl ipped on the griddle at any one time.

Chef Jacob Kenedy uses a clever small/large menu of impressive dishes, making a much more social pick-and-mix eating experience. It may be early days for this new kid on the block, but it seems it’s here to stay — top restaurateurs will be quaking in their catering clogs. T: 020 7734 2223. www.boccadilupo.com

RESTAURANTS

AVISTA

Grosvenor Square, W1K 2HP.
Bond Street

T: 020 7596 3399. www.avistarestaurant.com Mayfair-located Italian restaurant.

ALAIN DUCASSE AT THE DORCHESTER
Park Lane, W1K 1QA.

Hyde Park Corner

T: 020 7629 8866.
www.alainducasse-dorchester.com Contemporary French restaurant in one of the city’s fi nest hotels, with its own wine cellar.

BALANS

60 Old Compton Street, W1D 4UG. Piccadilly Circus

T: 020 7439 2183.
www.balans.co.uk
A real mixed bag of culinary delights, with Asian-inspired dishes and British cooking.

BARRAFINA

54 Frith Street, W1D 4SL.

Tottenham Court Road/Leicester Square

T: 020 7813 8016. www.barrafi na.co.uk
A tapas bar from the owners of Charlotte Street’s acclaimed Fino, Barrafi na focuses on Spanish tapas, wines and sherries at reasonable prices.

BELGO CENTRAL

50 Earlham Street, WC2H 9LJ. Covent Garden

T: 020 7813 2233.
www.belgo-restaurants.com
Walk through the kitchens towards cassocked monks serving Belgian food, including mussels and fries — with a wide selection of Belgian beers. There are other Belgo restaurants in Clapham, Holborn and Chalk Farm.

BELOW ZERO

31-33 Heddon Street, W1B 4BN.
Green Park

T: 020 7478 8910.
www.belowzerolondon.com
Expect starters of pan-fried mullet, warm blood orange and red onion salad from resident chef Sean Marshall, formerly of Oxo Tower fame. A large list of signature and unusual cocktails completes this well-liked Mayfair institution.

BENARES

12 Berkeley Square House, W1J 6BS. Green Park

T: 020 7629 8886.
www.benaresrestaurant.com Michelin-starred Indian with a difference. Chef Atul Kochhar serves up imaginative, beautifully presented versions of curry house fare for a reasonable price.

BLACK & BLUE

90-92 Wigmore Street, W1U 3RD.
Bond Street

T: 020 7486 1912.
www.blackandbluerestaurant.com
One of fi ve branches across the capital of a chain specialising in steak, with prime cuts of beef carefully sourced from trusted farmers in Yorkshire and Lancashire. The menu also offers burgers, fi sh, salads and grilled lamb and chicken, but the sirloin, rib-eye, T-bone and fi llet are really something special.

BODEAN’S

10 Poland Street, W1F 8PZ.

Oxford Circus
T: 020 7287 7575.
www.bodeansbbq.com
Discover this BBQ smoke house restaurant — be it ribs, chicken, pork or burgers, they’ll grill it by the slab. Shrimps, vegetable enchiladas and deli sandwiches round out the meaty menu. One child under 12 can eat free with a paying adult each Saturday and Sunday until 5pm. Branches around the capital.

IMAGE: BOCCA

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