Da Polpo

Da Polpo is the fourth outpost from restaurateur Russell Norman and closer to the Beak Street original in size and atmosphere than the middle, smaller two. The bare walls, industrially salvaged furniture and fittings and dim lighting remain a common theme. I'm beginnning to think that Norman has shares in one of the reclaimation companies, or alternatively is manufacturing former industrial shabby chic from scratch, extruding it out by the roomful in a dark pit of indentured workers somewhere in a former Soviet state.

The service is bright, funky and considerably more tattooed than yours truly, the sparse and snacky drinks and food menus appears on clipboards and as artfully recycled placemats and even at 9:30 on a wet and windy Wednesday they still having trouble seating you. So far, so fair for another Norman conquest.

We arrived and grabbed a seat at the downstairs bar which meant we got to eat sooner, though did leave us feeling like we were in an East German factory canteen. The lighting is low, the murmur was loud but the smell from the kitchen was divine… Perched at the battered zinc bar (another division in the owner's manufacturing empire no doubt) we kicked back with an Aperol spritz and perused the familiar menu.

We went on recommendation in the end, a selection from the different sharing plates littering the list, happy enough to chat and take the suggestions of the cool but knowledgable staff. Starting and finishing with rounds of arrancia, little hot shotputts of risotto rice round a molten mozzarella core, fried with a crisp toothsome breadcrumb crust. Textbook examples of a relatively simple bar snack, you'd be slightly pissed if you queued an hour for one, but better than a rather plain chicken liver crostini, too much pate with that drying sensation of the meat left it a little cloying in the mouth, less would have been more here.

The nearest to a main in size was a shared plate of Frito Misto, seafood selection (in reality 95% of it was prawns, calamari and whitebait) competently deep fried, maintaining the integrity of the fish without being doused in oil, though oddly served without an aoili to cut through the crumb. It may be authentic, but the lemon wedge didn't do enough to lift it from dryness. Better still was the pork shoulder pizzette, one of 6 or 7 baby pizzas, a smear of rich pasata covering the small, crisp base with thin slices of smoky marbled shoulder, all cut through with piquant peppers. Having eaten similar recently, cooked by a local Italian mama from a pizza oven facing the open air, I can attest to the authenticity of these little plate shaped platters of goodness.

Like the other branches, the meatballs are excellent. Not afraid to bring up the accompanying herbs, fennel in the case of the ones we went for, they're punchy cannonballs of well seasoned meat. the seasoned tomato sauce a great accompaniment and, after another round of those arrancia (OK, maybe they are worth waiting for when served hot and fresh, dripping with mozz) we stumbled off into the night.

So is anything really different to the other branches of the ‘chain’? And does it matter when the quality is high enough? While there's an element of Norman by Numbers about Da Polpo, for the neighbourhood (deepest, darkest touristic Covent Garden) it's nice to have another option in the area, though by the time you've waited for a table, there'll be another one along to take the crowd.

At long last, it appears that I have FINALLY found a restaurant within Russell Norman's little group (Spuntino, Polpo, Polpetto and now Da Polpo) that I actually like! I hate having to wait for tables and so a no-bookings policy is a complete and utter nightmare for me. Happily Da Polpo DO take bookings! The intertior is nicely laid out, not all cramped and uncomfortable like Polpo and service is really good too.

The menu is heavy on the carb-factor but you will find comfort classics like meatballs (galore!) including a meatball ‘smash’ of tortilla wrap bread stuffed with cheese and smashed up meatballs with lashings of sauce. Fritto Misto of seafood was lovely, except that underneath the batter, the prawns had their shells on, which we couldnt detect in advance, so there was a lot of uncomfortable spitting out of shells, which wasn't pleasant.

The Pizzettes are lovely individual, thin crust pizzas… exactly the same as in Italy, which is rather a good thing. Lots of side dishes such as spring greens, heirloom tomato salad and other veggie dishes make for great eats also.
The meal was nice, tasty and straightforward… and reasonably priced too (even without the 50% opening discount)

I would definitely go back for a quick Italian bite! Knocks the socks off other Italian joints in the local touristy areas.
Plus I do LOVE that they have Shirley Temple cocktails on the menu, which I hadnt had since I was a kid. All very fun and tongue in cheek.

The question of whether any sequel is better than the original is one that plagues film buffs. Yes, the Godfather Part II is certainly up there with the Godfather and arguably Rocky 2 is better than the original, but Godfather Part III or, heaven forbid, Rocky 4. Spare me both.

So how does Russell Norman Part IV hold up? Has he jumped the shark?

No.

It is perhaps a little unfair to compare Polpo with either Polpetto or Spuntino, as all are really quite different in style. Da Polpo, on the other hand, is essentially a remake of Polpo, with the same styling and a very similar menu, but transported from bustling Soho to bustling Covent Garden. I had the joy of trying Polpo one day and Da Polpo the next, so can give a good feel for how they compare. And they are very comparable, although this time with subtle differences.

DP has the same distressed feel, same bare wire lights and same laid back feel as P, but some things have changed. Clearly when opening P, Mr Normand couldn’t afford matching tables and chairs. I kinda liked that. Now, eighteen months and four restaurants later, at DP he can, so they do.

The menus too compare, with dishes and wines being the same on each, but with some at DP that are new, and with a range of pizzetta beyond the blanco that you get in P. Prices too are beyond fair, wine comes by the glass, carafe (both small and large) and bottle and the staff all friendly: no set uniforms here, adding to the atmospheric nature of the place.

We went for the soft opening, so food was half price. It also meant that the team wasn’t operating at full capacity, with tables left empty for far longer than will be the case once fully open. That isn’t a complaint mind, as I was happy to wait, cocktail in hand, for the table to be deemed ready for us.

And when we were ushered to our seat, the formula from each of P,P&S is repeated: no set starters or mains, but bite size dishes then meat, fish and veg options, all similar sizes and all brought as cooked. Without exception, they were lovely: not haute cuisine, but finely cooked, and all hit the spot. The chilli and garlic prawns was probably the best of the dishes we tried, but the white anchovy pizzetta, the lamb and mint meat balls and asparagus with butter (that's scrambled to you and me) egg and parmesan were all terrific too. Another departure from P is the gelato cones at DP: an excellent way to round off the meal, rich chocolate gelato, proper ice cream cone.

It is a brave move to come out of the comfort zone of Soho, where the passing trade is going to have a much higher percentage of locals, to Covent Garden which is as heavily, if not more heavily, filled with restaurants, and where the passing trade is going to be very much more tourist lead. Is Covent Garden ready for this? I really hope so, as it is another excellent addition to the London restaurant scene.