Cicheti my Spaghetti
After agreeing to meet up with a friend in Covent Garden, I had decided we meet in Polpo. The much talked about Venetian establishment was one of those restaurants which a lot of people had said they had wanted to go to but hadn’t yet visited. This is the second Polpo to open after the original in Soho and, to my surprise, has been open since 2011.
I had my concerns; first you can’t book a table which leaves the possibility of waiting and staring enviously over seated diners. Second, the tapas style dishes, cicheti, which doesn’t appeal to the Joey’s of the world – Mylen just doesn’t share food.
My fears were quickly washed away with a well priced bottle of Montepulciano and a table which my friend and I had managed to get straight away. We had more than the recommended portion of two cicheti per person starting with the Fritto Misto, crisp and lightly battered seafood of squid, whitebait and prawns served with a lemon wedge which was light and refreshing. We followed with a creamy spinach and parmesan pizette with a
The menu isn’t so long it makes your head spin but there’s a dish to please every type of person. To my relief, the plates are big enough so there are at least five or six bites per person which eased the tension between me and my friend when it came down to the last pieces of food on each plate.
