Dinner for two with cocktails and wine: £150

There’s a style of Italian restaurant in my hometown of New York City that I just love.  Relaxed yet polished atmosphere, authentic food and great service.  NYC is positively infested with these little gems. My favorite – Lunetta in Brooklyn was walking distance from my flat and I make sure to eat there every time I am home for a visit.

This kind of place is hard to find in London.  Cheep and cheerful is easy to find.  Fine dining in a stiff, formal setting abounds.  But modern fine dining where you can show up in jeans and trainers and still get white tablecloth service is harder to come by.  I’d heard about Bocca di Lupo but just assumed it would be overpriced and fussy.  But my friend Ian had raved about it and he’s got a rather trustworthy palette and does not suffer poor service well, so I went with it.

We showed up around 7pm midweek without a booking.  I was expecting to be politely turned away but they have a great bar that runs the length of the front of the restaurant where punters can overlook the action in the open kitchen and get great wine suggestions from the charming barmen.  It’s a fun place to sit if there’s just two of you.

Artichoke a la giudia

First off we had a couple of negronis and some items from the Fritti section of the menu.  Olives stuffed with minced pork and veal – perfect with a gin based drink really.  And one of my favorite things from the Jewish quarter of Rome – deep fried artichoke.

Next we had a small plate of treviso risotto.  It’s always risky ordering a small plate of risotto.  What was the likelihood that they were going to make this tiny portion fresh for us?  You can always tell when a restaurant has made the risotto mostly in advance and then finishes off portions as they are ordered. Or worse if they’ve just reheated it.  It’s usually a mushy, pasty affair.  Bocca di Lupo either makes every small serving on it’s own or they have perfected a method for reheating or finishing pre-cooked risotto because it was delicious.  The rice was cooked just the right amount – and the dish was not overly starchy or stodgy.

Treviso Risotto

It was at this point that I dropped my fork.  I swear that the waitress had a new fork at my place before the dropped one hit the floor. I didn’t have to crane my neck to try to get anyone’s attention while my food went cold.  I didn’t have to worry about a thing.  Now that my friends is service.

Next up was Buristo – which is Italian blood sausage.  I love blood sausage but it clearly completely freaked Ian out.  More for me!  Sicillian sardines with raisins and breadcrumbs – another excellent dish.  And a great big dish of sauteed chanterelles which I seriously made sure sat on my right side so Ian had a hard time getting to them.

Rustic pork & foie gras sausage with farro & porcini mushrooms

Ian’s favorite of the evening – and I have to agree it was divine – was the rustic pork and foie gras sausage with farro & porcini mushrooms.  I mean just reread that.  How is that not going to be delicious?

Desert was something chocolatey.  I’m not really a chocolate person so I can barely remember it but it was nice. What I do remember was the grappa - Gioiello Chesnut Honey grappa to be precise.  Great way to end a fantastic dinner.

I really enjoyed this meal.  The food was excellent and the level of service and attention to detail just really made the whole experience.  I’d come here for a business dinner, a date, or with a group of friends.  Most exciting for me however is that the bar makes this a perfect place to come on your own when you really don’t want to share your mushrooms or sausage with anyone.

Bocca di Lupo
12 Archer St.
London, W1D 7BB

Dinner for 2 with a bottle of wine: £50ish

The ish is because this was a birthday dinner (mine) and Chris treated me so I didn’t pay close attention to the bill.

I noticed Ida whilst whizzing by on a bus on my way home from a shopping trip.  It intrigued me right away because it reminded me of a typical neighborhood Brooklyn Italian restaurant.  At least it looked like one from the outside anyway.  I love eating in London (no surprise there) but I do miss the food in New York from time to time.  London has a lot of fantastic food – but small, family owned Italian restaurants where you can go and get an inexpensive, unpretentious freshly prepared Italian meal are sadly a rarity as they have been pushed out by the horrible Bella Italias and awful Pizza Expresses.  So as you can imagine I was excited to try out Ida.

The restaurant itself is cozy and welcoming.  It’s decor is definitely not slick or fabulous, but that lack of polish lends to the comfortable neighborhood restaurant vibe.  I could easily see myself popping in on a weeknight on my own with a book for a leisurely meal here.

Insalate frutti de mari

We started with seafood salad and a crostini.  The salad was very nice and fresh – it won’t win the chef any Michelin starts but it was very enjoyable.  The crostini was a scrumptious mix of pancetta, fava and herbs – delicious.

Crostini

Next we both had pastas.  Chris had a simple but lovely spaghetti with olives and I went a little more decadent with a house made ravioli stuffed with venison prosciutto which was delicious.  I should point out that Ida make all their pasta fresh which makes all the difference.  They also focus on the food of a specific Italian region every month.

Ravioli with venison prosciutto

We then shared a dish of cuttlefish and sausage with peas which was just so so.  I think at Ida the pasta dishes are the real stand outs.   And then for dessert…just kidding that would have been nuts.

This is really my favorite kind of restaurant.  Small, staffed by the owner his chef and one waitress serving lovingly prepared food to a manageable number of tables.  No multi-chain empire – just good, honest food on a human scale.

Ida is a great place for a romantic but laid back dinner that you can have in jeans.  Also good for a small group of friends (it’s not big enough for a huge party of people).  I will definitely be making this a regular stop as it is only a five minute walk from my flat but it is worth hopping on the tube for.  They have cooking classes too which I just might have to check out.

Ida
167 5th Ave
London, W10 4DT

Dinner for 3 with ample amounts of wine: £80.00

After an epic day of sightseeing I meet up for dinner with Lee and Wendy near Waterloo station.  I have been wandering around London for about 6 hours by the time we sit down for pre-dinner drinks and I am so hungry that I briefly consider eating my cocktail napkin.

Lee has found what he describes as a real neighborhood Italian, a well kept secret near the station called Caprini’s.  A big bowl of pasta sounds perfect.

I feel a strange sense of déjà vu immediately upon entering this place but I know for sure I’ve never eaten here.  Everything about the decor, table settings, waiters seems oddly familiar. What is it about this place that reminds me of something?

I realize halfway through the meal that this place belongs on Mulberry street in Little Italy which is why it seems so familiar.  I keep expecting a large group of tourists from Iowa to come in.  Imagine oil paintings of bunches of grapes and burgundy linens as far as the eye can see.  There is a liberal amount of formica used in the decor which does not appear to have been updated since 1976. It all seems so out of place in London. I like it immediately.

We start with grilled asparagus,  garlic bread covered in cheese and seeing as I am with two vegetarians I have an entire plate of fried whitebait all to myself which is good because now I am ravenous AND tipsy.

Fried Whitebait

I found it a little odd that they served tartar sauce with it as tartar sauce is not even remotely Italian.  The batter was a little eh but the fish was fresh and the dish was not greasy.

We all went for the pastas – I don’t even remember what was on the rest of the menu.  Wendy had the arrabiata which was good.  Lee had fettuccine with cream sauce and veggies which was better.

Lee's Fettuccine

I went for the gnocchi – in an attempt to fill up my empty growling stomach.

Gnocchi Piedmontese

Piedmont is a mountainous, northern region of Italy so I was hoping for something cheesy and homey and filling and as you can see from the photo above it was.  The gnocchi were good – I expect they were not freshly made but I wasn’t bothered by it.

The house rose was quite drinkable and reasonably priced.  The service was attentive and friendly.

This is a place to come for a homey, comforting, old fashioned meal.  Not sure I would search this place out again but if I were in the neighborhood I would definitely stop in for a nosh.

Caprini’s Ristorante
77 Waterloo Rd
London, SE1 8UD, United Kingdom