No longer do we have to trek across the atlantic to eat at a Daniel Boulud establishment. I have been a number of times to Bar Boulud and the food and service still excels each time.

The room is managed by Paulo De Tarso, a well known face who you would recognise from The Wolseley and Scott's. The more I eat out, the more I realise that the staff are at the heart of any restaurant. If they are happy to be working there and want to be there, it makes the whole experience far better for all involved.

OK, the dining room is not the nicest dining room in town, but it is not as bad as many have claimed. It is sleek and clean and I reckon will wear well with time. The food is french brasserie with charcuterie plates, a selection of sausages and the infamous burgers available. They also do a cracking 3 course £20 set menu for lunch and for early bird dinner. The charcuterie plate is good with fresh cold cuts and pates to gorge on with the lovely french bread that is served. £14 for small plate is not the best value dish in town but if you split it between two for a starter it doesnt work out too expensive. A nice touch is to add a sausage dish between starter and main. The boudin blanc with truffle mash is a stunner of dish – so light and moist.

The real star of the show though is the burgers. The Frenchie and The DBGB are the two to go for.

Wine focuses on France with a good selection of wines available under £40 and a perfectly good house white and red for £20 a bottle.

Service is supreme. Have not faulted it to date. Ask to be served by Richard – great waiter.

The thing I love about Bar Boulud is that you could pop in on your own and sit at the bar with a paper and have a quick burger and glass of wine or you could go for a superb celebration meal. Now they serve breakfast and afternoon tea, it may well become The Wolseley of Knightsbridge.

I have been twice now to Koffmann's since it has opened. Once for dinner and once to try their set lunch on Sunday. Unfortunately, on Sunday we never actually got to ordering as we had to leave because the service was just so bizarre.

Every critic under the sun has given this place rave reviews. The food was superb when I came for dinner the week before and the infamous pigs trotter and mustard rabbit was good.

However, this review today is more about the service and bizarre attitude that seems to exist amongst the staff.

Both times I have been, I have been made to wait for my table at the bar, despite the fact that each time we were led to our table, it had been empty for the duration that we were at the bar. It was also the case that both times there were a number of tables that were empty that we could have sat at, but it seems that they want to make people wait for the privilege of sitting at a table.

On our Sunday lunch trip, when we checked in with at the front reception, we were told that as we were ten minutes early our table was not ready. I politely enquired as to whether there were any other tables. We were informed that we could sit on our own on the mezzanine level, no thanks, or we would have to wait for ten minutes for our table, Sitting at the bar, I could see a few tables for two that were vacant and surprise the ohe we were led to 12 minutes later was our table. We were given a menu at the bar which stated 3 courses for £22.50. We were then given different menus at the table that said 3 course for £26.00?? A quick decision to up the prices because we didnt order a drink at the bar?

We were then informed that the chicken from the set menu had sold out. So1 out of the 3 mains from the set menu was not available. Slightly annoying so we asked what they would supplement in its place where we were promptly told that they would not be replacing it with anything.

We decided to leave at this point and on our way out, we were asked by the same member of staff who originally greeted us whether there was a problem. Yes was the answer – the fact we had to wait for 10 minutes at the bar to sit at our table that was ready from the outset, the fact we were given menus with different prices on and the fact that your manager was not willing to supplement the chicken for anything. Her response was that we turned up early and our policy is not to seat people until their allocated reservation time. However, she was happy to seat us at another table before our reservation time but not one in the main restaurant.

I find this sort of management / behaviour most bizzare. I hope Mr Koffmann is aware that his front of house team are making dining at his establishment a real misery. He is lucky the food does the talking.

Musical chairs at Bistro Bruno Loubet

Bistro Bruno Loubet has been hailed as the restaurant opening of the year so far, as we see Monsieur Loubet return from down under to cook for us. If Mr Loubet’s name rings a bell it is because in the Nineties, Bruno Loubet was all the rage, first at Bistrot Bruno, then at L’Odeon on Regent Street. He has now returned east to the Zetter Hotel, a rather trendy boutique hotel in Clerkenwell. The restaurant dominates the ground floor of the building and its décor reminds me of somewhere Carrie Bradshaw would be seen eating.

However, for some reason, we decided to take the circle line to get to Bistro Bruno Loubet and this helped build up our appetite as we ended up half an hour late for our reservation. If God created earth while by travelling on the Circle line, we would still be in darkness. Stepping in to the restaurant, we were greeted by a lovely sound of people enjoying their evening and we were promptly seated by an ‘Andi Peter’ lookalike maitre’d to a lovely table in the back right corner of the room with a view of both the kitchen and St John’s Square.

Just as we had got comfortable and started to admire the menu, Mr Peters came over and asked us to move seat. A little bemused, I asked why and we were informed that this table was actually for a group of four who had cancelled but now wanted to dine again. I reluctantly agreed to see the other table we were being deported to but the waiter would have needed a passport to serve us as it was basically in the lobby of the hotel so I refused to move. The manager, seeing this fricassee in the middle of his dining room, came over; asked what was happening; was told; he apologised; allowed us to stay at our table; bollocked Andy and then brought over two glasses of champagne to say sorry.

Resettled and debating what to have for dinner, the metaphorical musical chairs music tape started up again and it stopped with Andi asking us to move once again! I was half expecting Edd the Duck, Mr Peter’s TV sidekick to pop out and reveal this was all a joke. Unfortunately, this was not the case and we moved, although to be fair, it was to a better table. Our second complimentary glass of fizz arrived and by now we would move our chairs to sit anywhere as long as we were allowed to order and eat. At least the food made up for the earlier fiasco.

To start with we had Pea soup a la Francaise and Mauricette snails and meatballs with royale de champignons. The soup was a bright Spring green and the smell transformed you to a small leafy village in rural France where you can imagine farmers stopping for lunch on their tractors mopping up the soup with large chunks of baguette. The meatballs had been recommended by many of the well known food critics so I decided to order these. I sometimes find that snails can be overpowered by the garlic sauce they are so normally served in but this was not the case here as garlic did not really feature in this dish. This dish has to be one of the best dishes that I have had in a long time. The texture and taste of the snails worked so well with meatballs in the tomato sauce. This dish made me remember what taste is all about. Imagine you had lost your taste buds and suddenly found them again in this dish. Mouthful after mouthful was like discovering a new primary colour.

To follow, we had the confit lamb shoulder, white bean and preserved lemon puree with green harissa and the pan fried breast of wood pigeon, cauliflower, almond with quinoa and giblet sauce. The lamb was tender and actually tasted of lamb. The white bean and preserved lemon puree with green harissa added a Mediterranean touch to the dish that made a nice difference to the French themed menu. The pan fried breast of wood pigeon was served beautifully medium rare. I often find pigeon can be rich but this pigeon did not overpower and was silkily soft. The plate arrived with very thin slices of cauliflower scattered over the slices of pigeon breast that covered every inch of the plate. I do not know if this was intentional play on the dish but it reminded me of the Italian dish beef tagliata with rocket and parmesan. The almonds added that lovely little crunch to the dish. Almonds and pigeon, shouldn’t really work, but like Dave Cameron and Nick Clegg’s double act, it somehow does.

The wine list was very approachable with a large number of wines under the 30 quid mark. Again, a nice sign that this is trying to be a bistro as one should be able to walk in, have a main course and bottle of wine without having to have the end result of a bank account representing that of Sarah Ferguson.

The total bill was just over £80 including service charge for two starters, two mains and a good bottle of wine. If you are going to dine out once this year, please consider Bistro Bruno Loubet; although be prepared to change seats at least twice during your meal.

I decided to take advantage of the Easter mass exodus from London to try the fantastic value set lunch (2 courses £22.50 and 3 courses £27.50) on offer at The Ledbury in Notting Hill. The chef proprietor Bret Graham has been in the foodie press quite a bit recently as The Ledbury received a much coveted second Michelin star at the beginning of the year and his Fulham pub The Harwood Arms was awarded its first Michelin star in the new years gastro honours list.

This restaurant is situated at the bottom of Ledbury Road, in this now much sought after hedge fund neighbourhood. Like many Notting Hill restaurants, the décor at The Ledbury doesn’t quite do it for me. No David Collins or Martin Brudnizki influences here but more a Furniture Village meets Habitat. Nevertheless, we were here to let the food do the talking.

My new restaurant test is to find out whether you can take your own wine and be charged a reasonable corkage and this is exactly the case at The Ledbury where they charge £25 per bottle corkage. It may sound high at first but when you look at the wine list, the cheapest wine is New World plonk at £22 and I brought my own Chablis Premiere Cru and a similar wine on the menu was a stonking £90. To make it even better, I was welcomed with arms wide open when I walked in with a chilled Burgundian under my arms. To be able to walk in with your own booze to a 2 Michelin star restaurant is like Bob Crow offering to drive you to work during a tube strike.

We were promptly seated and offered tap water, another lovely touch in a place like this, and offered both an a la carte and set lunch menu to peruse over. While debating our choices the first non menu freebie arrived, an aubergine meringue with a foie grois butter centre. Superbly soft despite being a meringue and the foie grois started to get the taste buds going for the courses to come.

On the set menu to start was crapaudine beetroot in clay with smoked white balsamic emulsion, goats cheese and dried olives. The betroot was brought out to the table still cocooned in the clay and then taken away to be served up. The stronger flavour and texture of the beetroot worked well with the smoother creamier goats cheese and the portion size well outdid many other Michelin competitors. The other starter was a ravioli of lamb with artichokes, garlic and wood sorrel. The single piece of ravioli was filled with succulent strands of lamb intermingled with artichoke and surrounded by garlic and sorrel. A very different dish to the beetroot but again a wonder on the tastebuds. To call this dish a pasta dish would not do it justice as it is so much more yet still has the simplicity that every Italian expects from their nations favourite dish.

To follow, a choice of either roast baby monkfish with pardon peppers, oxtail and rosemary or crisp suckling pig and stuffed pig tails with a reduction of dried chicory, spatzle and white carrot. A nice sign to see monkfish on a set menu as this ain’t a cheap fish and it was deservedly beautifully cooked, the white flakes of this fish gently fell apart with the slightest touch from a fork. One element I wasn’t keen on was the pardon peppers which had a little kick to them which I thought didn’t quite compliment the fish as it should, but I am not the keenest on spice. The second dish of piggy parts was good. Although a little odd to look at, the pork was moist and full of flavour. This is the sort of dish you wouldn’t probably choose of an a la carte menu but makes you realise that it is worth the risk of choosing dishes that don’t always first stand out to you.

Dessert consisted of three choices with a Crème Brulee with dried apricot and cardamom, a selection of sorbets and cheese. We had all three and again Mr Graham has constructed his menu well as all three desserts were so very different. The selection of cheese veered towards France as most tend to do but there was a good selection without being overwhelming. The crème brulee pleased all and that touch of cardamom added that special touch.

The service at The Ledbury is something that really impressed me for a 2 Michelin star restaurant. Nothing annoys me more when you get pressured by fussy waiting staff that never leave you alone and top up your wine glass every two minutes. Our service was different, far more relaxed and a joy to chat to the maitre’d. The bill arrived and I was pleasantly pleased by the final amount of £158.00 including coffees, petit fours and service charge. I have eaten at many West End restaurants where a similar bill has arrived for an average two course meal nowhere near the skill, quality and service experienced here. Come here for lunch with someone special to celebrate something special. But don’t blame me when you want to come back for dinner, at least you can bring your own!

I have been to the Queens Head and Artichoke a few times now, each time now for Sunday lunch. The first two times the place was empty, the food and service good. This gastropub is located just a few yards down from Great Portland Street tube and in the dead mans zone before Camden town. From the outside, it looks like the sort of boozer you dont want to go in to unless you fancy a quick pint and there is nowhere else to venture. However, once inside, the pub has a nice feel although the frosted lead lined windows can make it feel a little claustrophobic.

An interesting menu with a mixture of traditional gastropub fare and a scrumptious tapas menu. The food is good, with all portions verging on too large and almost off putting. Dont eat anything all day if you are coming here as you are unlikely to leave hungry. The tapas menu is as you would expect with dishes suchas patatas bravas, marinated anchovies and squid in chilli. The organic roast beef was nice. It came medium rare but the slices were carpaccio style thin. All the trimmings came with it as well as large homemade yorkshire pub. Fantastic value for twelve quid.

My only issue, which is a big one, is the service. The place was heaving due to the good weather and a two large groups in the restaurant. Management clearly doenst exist here as we had at least four people serving us at different times during the meal. However, service then ceased to exist around half way through our lunch. We had to ask five times for a cappucino, two of these times I got up and went in search of it but to no avail. One of our many waitresses then came over and told us rather rudely that we dont not in fact order a cappucino. Either way – whoever is right – dont dare argue with the customer. We asked to chat to the manager. A tpyical French man sauntered over and announced his arrival by saying ‘Yes?’. His excuse for poor service was that he had been let down by staff at the last minute and that we would just have to wait to be served while everyone was serving at the bar. Charming !

Great food, ok atmosphere, appauling arrogant service from a team that clearly dont care whether their customers return. So I wont.

Beyond Caring?

In a recent review in the Saturday Times, Giles Coren wrote how he has been trying to find a fault in Richard Caring and Nick Jones’s hospitality empire. Coren found it through over salted dumplings at one of their latest ventures, Dean Street Townhouse. Despite the fact that everywhere I seem to dine out or drink these days is owned by these two doyennes of the hospitality industry, I have still yet to find a downfall. Cecconi’s is no exception!

I have lost count the number of times that I have been to Cecconi’s, but I still have a desire to return over and over. Located behind the Royal Academy of Arts and next to that US clothes store that models half naked door men, Cecconi's been on the Mayfair food circuit for a number of years and was re launched by Nick Jones back in 2005. Despite what many say, Cecconi’s was the first London restaurant to offer the all day dining experience. This classy Italian somehow manages to transform itself from sophisticated breakfast venue in the morning to swanky Mayfair Italian in the evening. Nevertheless, one can walk in at any time of the day or night and take a pew at the large white marble bar and sip away at on the tap prosecco, now seen at every one of Caring / Jones venture, and sample the cichetti on offer.

Breakfast has a boutique hotel atmosphere about it, dominated by the hedge fund amd financial early risers over their power beakfasts who prefer the quieter surroundings than those experienced at The Wolseley but by mid morning it has a scattering of fashionistas sipping on their soya lattes. A full English with an Italian twist, eggs Benedict and porridge can all be chosen from the breakfast menu, which is available until midday on weekdays.

The lunch and dinner menu is where the real Italian fanfare comes in with beef carpaccio, lobster spaghetti, fresh truffle pasta and veal Milanese as just a few of the highlights on the menu. Cichetti is a house special, with the likes of quail eggs, Umbrian sausage, bruschetta…and if the choice is too hard just settle for the house selection.

The wine list, as expected and should be the case, is made up of powerful Brunello’s and Barolo’s but lighter wines such as Gavi di Gavi are there to cater for the lady PR executives and wedding planners and house white and red can be purchased for £18 a bottle, catering to all budgets.

Service is friendly and efficient. Giacomo Maccioni, the general manager, is a true professional and always gives the warmest welcome. The only downfall at Cecconi’s is the fact that you keep returning and never venture to other restaurants. To be fair though, wherever you are likely to venture, it is most likely to be owned by these two anyway.

I am writing this review, just after hearing that Mr Ramsay has lost his one Michelin Star at Claridges and The Harwood Arms in Fulham has received its first. It has got me thinking as to the sort of food and restaurant atmosphere people want these days?

This leads on to my rare culinary venture to Notting Hill to go out for dinner. Despite the fact that there are a numbr of great restaurants, this now trendy home to the hedge funders has never been on my culinary radar.
I have heard great things about Bumpkin and we decided to go last Thursday night. I was surprised by how quiet the downstairs bar and restaurant was at 8pm, despite the fact when we tried to book online it claimed it the place was fully booked?

A warm greeting from the receptionist and we were led to the upstairs restaurant where there were a few other tables occupied. Service from the beginning was friendly and on the whole efficient, apart from a little delay in the starters arriving.

The four of us all agree that the menu read well with half a dozen starters, half a dozen fish mains and half a dozen meat mains with some of the mains doubling up as starter options. The menu's ingedient works with the seasons, so being winter, lots of hearty dishes. There were a few select specials as well.

Our starters included mussells cooked in white wine, the seasonal soup and a fish pie. The mussells were superb with the slightly acidic white wine sauce, although the portion was a little on the small side. The crust of the pie was not too stodgy and broke off nicely to reveal creamy chunks of fish.

To follow, I had the special of tuscan sausage with white beans and black pudding stew. For £12.50 this dish was a steal and was a fine effort of recreating a classic tuscan dish. My only problem was with the sausages. It was a shame the kitchen opted for the sort of sausages you expect in a local caf's fry up and instead did not opt for some nice Italian sausages which would have worked far better. The haunch of venison steak with the thyme and juniper berries hit just the right spot and the venision was cooked to perfection. The pork belly at £15.50 was clearly from a well fed pig as it was huge. Again though, the dish was liked. The final main was the burger. I find a burger tells you two things about a restaurant. Firstly, if they can cook it to your preference. Bumpkin did this and to be fair it was a half decent burger but for £13.50 if think a little steep in price! Secondly,if a restaurant serves a burger, the sort of restaurant it is trying to be. The Wolseley and The Ivy both have the option of a burger, probably to please the American tourists more than anything else but this is the problem with Bumpkin. I think it has an identitly crisis. It is neither a gastropub or restaurant…it is somewhere in between trying to find its true image. There was just that something missing. When I go in to a restaurant, just as important as the food is the atmosphere. The food, the wine, the company were all top notch but I just had an urge to transport it all to a different place…

Finally finally finally !!! I was so close to giving up the fact that I would never find a decent Sunday roast in the centre of London and would have to resort to cooking one myself. However, after a tip off from a friend, four of us went to The Orange for lunch on Sunday. To be fair, one can find a good Sunday set lunch, especially at the likes of York and Albany and Corrigan's Mayfair, but I am not always up for a three course meal for lunch.

Housed in beautiful Victorian building on the corner of Pimlico Road, opposite Daylesford Organic, the Orange has been beautifully decorate in a vintage French theme but it works well for a pub and gives it a warm feel. On Sunday the place was decked out with young glam families and couples relaxing over a glass of something and the papers.

There is a bar on the ground floor and a small restaurant, with the rest of the dining being done upstairs. We hadn't booked and it was busy. Not a problem, the manager said it would be a 30 minute wait and we could go downstairs to the basement bar to grab a drink and seat. About 10 minutes later we were seated at out table and admiring the menu in the upstairs restaurant.

A vast selection of mediterranean dishes and British dishes. Three of us opted for the rib of roast beef with all the trimmings and the fourth had half a roast chicken. I can honestly say, and so could the other two, that I have never seen a bit of beef so large on a plate. Pink in the middle and fantastically soft, this beef was some of the best I have had for a while. Along with the fact you get a lovely homemade yorkshire pub, roast potatoes and loads of veg, at £18.50 this was a superb value plate of food.

House wine starts at £16.00 a bottle and there is a good limited size wine list. Service was friendly and informal in the way one likes on a Sunday afternoon.

One of the best, if not the best, Sunday lunches I have had for a long time in a restaurant. I am returning for dinner in a few weeks and I only hope it lives up to the last time.

Daphnes are currently offering their set lunch menu for dinner as well during the month of January. I went after the theatre last night. As expected, it was very quiet as most of London had cocooned themselves up at home to take shelter from the arctic freeze.
I like the dining room, which is almost in two parts, with the conservatory at the back. For some reason, it has an 80's Beverley Hill's kinda feel to it. The decor and the furniture makes it feel like a Tuscan Le Caprice.
The set menu offers hree options for starters, mains and puddings and at £16.50 for 2 courses and £18.50 for three courses, one would be hard pushes to find similar quality restaurant in South Ken / Chelsea area offering these prices.
For starters, a choice of wild mushroom soup, selection of meats and chicory, pear and gorgonzola salad. We had all three and they all came up trumps. The soup particularly on a cold January evening.
For mains, roast duck leg on a bed of puy lentils was wholesome dish but not too rich as duck can sometimes be. There was a past and fish option as well.
Service was friendly and efficient. I think it is a good sign in restaurants when service is good even when it is quiet as so often service seems to deteriorate when there are few diners.
With house wine at £12.50 a carafe or £16 a bottle and very drinkable, don't worry about counting the pennies in January, go to Daphne's for a great value supper.

I went for dinner at Roast between Christmas and New Year, which I find is always a funny time of the year to eat out in London as there is normally in an interesting crowd of people dining out and places usually lack atmosphere. Roast was no different. Despite having been to Borough Market a number of times, this was my first trip to Roast. From being greeted at the reception, the four of us knew this might be an interesting dinner. I mean does it really need three people to take the name of the reservation, take our coats and then take us to our table…it just makes the whole first impressions seem sloppy.

Service was slow, despite the fact the restaurant was half empty. We skipped starters as nothing really sounded that appetising. Around 10 minutes after ordering our mains arrived. Dont get me wrong, I am fan of good quick service in restaurants, but with the dishes we had ordered it was clear these had been pre- prepared and left on the side to get cold.

The roast pheasant had clearly had this treatment – luke warm and dry. Two of us ordered a classic dish of Smoked Haddock on a bed of spinach with a poached egg on top. To be fair, this was not bad. The fish flaked apart nicely and the sauce didnt overpower the flavours. However, the poached egg needed to be runnier. I have still not found anywhere who does this dish better than Le Caprice.

I was quite disappointed with Roast and I hope the food and service was a one off, maybe due to the time of year and part time staff? I am happy to give the benefit of the doubt but for an average main to be priced at £17, the quality of both food and service has to be better.

I might try breakfast next time…

Ping ! An email from Caprice Holdings announcing the opening of Nick Jones's latest venture Dean Street Townhouse and that there was a soft opening with 50% off the food bill. An offer to hard to resist so I booked a table for 3 people for a the first Thursday night it was open at 9pm. I understand that with the discount applied this review may not be the same as a review whereby I paid the full price but anyway here goes.

Located on Dean Street in Soho, the name kind of gives it away, it is hard to think why I have never noticed the building Dean Street Townhouse is now housed in. I believe it was once a pub. For some reason, I am not too sure why, I presumed the place would be fairly quiet as it was the ‘soft opening’ week. I could not have been any more wrong. Upon entering the restaurant the buzz of London on Thursday night hit you and it is the sort of buzz that really makes you appreciate being able to eat out at venues such as this.

We were politely informed by a friendly receptionist that the table wasn't ready and to please grab a drink at the bar. Not a problem, for two reasons. Firstly, not fair to complain when you are receiving 50% off the bill and secondly, the bar is so inviting that you almost feel you should have a drink even if your table was ready. There were a number of familiar faces from the restaurant scene scattered around the tables, including Fergus Henderson tucking in to the dishes available on the British menu.

As Mr Jones described the restaurant himself, the decor is Granny Chic. A kind of The Ivy stroke The Wolseley love child dressed in Laura Ashley. It works very well. Food is British and is similar to that of Mark Hix's new place Hix. We started with a few starters to share. Some Oysters, which were served just as they should be on some ice with some shallot vinegarette and tabasco sauce on the side. A large homemade Scotch Egg brought on a brown chopping board with a side of tartare sauce was good homemade grub. Finally, a superd dish of foie grois, black pudding and quince jelly, which I thought worked well despit the complex rich flavours present.

To follow, another great few british dishes. Cod and chips, steak and chips and game pie. The chips, a good tester of any restaurant, were not too greasy and were well seasoned. Simple, homemade food done well. OK – this is not the greatest food in London or the Nick Jones empire but the concept works. Easy food, at reasonable prices even without the 50% off, and house wine starting at £17 a bottle really makes it a place worth going to. And if you eat and drink too much and cant face joining the masses back out on the streets of Soho, one can stumble upstairs to the hotel where ‘tiny’ rooms start at £95 for the night.

Is there any stopping Nick Jones?

A stone's throw from Shoreditch House, is one of Nick Jones's latest ventures, Pizza East. Modelled on Pizza Mozza in LA, it is located in the old tea building on Shoreditch High Street. Easily missed, the modest entrance, which is similar to a fire exit or West End theatre stage door entrance with push bar double doors, fits in well with the surrounding industrial architecture. Uber induastrial decor dominates this huge dining room with original wooden floors, bare brick walls and prep school style tables and chairs. One could be in the meatpacking district in downtownn New York.

The sheer size of Pizza East is amazing – with 200 tables packed on a Tuesday with the trendy set of East London and few suits scattered around.
A simple menu, both in visual terms and the food on it. The menu is nicely split in to anitpasti, wood baked dishes and pizzas. The two of us decided to share the lamb meatballs with parmesan and tomato sauce. 3 good sized meatballs were good but I prefer the similar dish available at Polpo, it is just that bit tastier. And wood baked mussels, again just the right amount. Sometimes starter portions of mussel's can be too large. We both then opted for pizzas, although the other mains were hard to ignore with the likes of pork roasted belly with cavolo nero and borlotti beans, ideal on a cold winters night. For the pizza's we had the anchovies and capers toppings with mozarella and a margherita with San Daniele Ham. Both were well cooked and the pizza base different to the usual Pizza Express and other pizza chains, with a slightly thicker, crunchier base that works well. Other toppings include veal meatballs and goats cheese and artichokes. To round the meal off we shared small doughnuts with chocolate – simple but good.

The wine list has a great selection, epsecially for under £30, with most of them from Italy or the US. Carafes of house wine start from £11. Tumblers serve as wine glasses, which is a concept I like as it feels more rustic. The total bill for two anitpasti, two pizzas, one pudding and a carafe of house wine came to £50 with service.

All in all, another great concept engineered by the great man himself, Mr Nick Jones. Rumour has it, there is set to be a Pizza Central and Pizza West…cant wait !

I have now been to Polpo twice – once for lunch and once for dinner. Situated just off Regent Street on Beak Street, Polpo boasts fantastic Italian tapas (chichetti) and an awesome decor to match. A number of well known critics have described it as walking in to a New York downtown restaurant and they are spot on. You cross the threshold and are immeadiately transported in to the meatpacking district with the bare brick walls and copper ceiling.

Stepping in to Polpo, you are greeted by a fantastic buzz coming from the main dining room and the few diners that have congregated at the bar to sip the great value cocktails and have some chichetti. Both at both lunch and dinner there was a mixed crowd, the sort of media type you expect in Soho but a few suits scattered around the room (myself included) and a few tables that hosted older generations, the sort you would expect to be dining the other side of Regent Street in Mayfair at the likes of Cecconi's or Harry's Bar and this is what bodes so well for Polpo.

For lunch, it is possible to book, which means if you only have an hour or so lunch break from work it works well. However, it is not possible to book, but in a way this means it somewhat easier to get a table but still expect a small wait.

Nevertheless, it is well worth the wait ! Russell Norman has clearly taken all his experience and skill from working in some of the best restaurants in the capital to set up this ‘bacaro’ that has very much filled a gap in the market.

The menu is easy to naviagate and enjoyable. To me, being able to pick half a dozen plates to share with your fellow diner is such a glorious way to eat. A few favourites are the arancini (mozarella and risotto fried balls), the anchovies and chick pea bruschetta and the parma ham with warm roasted pumpkin. But thinking about it, I could add a number of other dishes to my favourites such as the Polpette (veal meatballs with tomato sauce), the slow cooked pork and the squid…Plates vary from around £1.50 to £6.

It is a joy to eat at Polpo and the thing I love is the fact you can go in and have a carafe of wine and few plates and leave with a bill you would expect at Pizzaa Express, or spend more and still leave happy !

I will be returning very soon indeed !