Restaurants

By Elena Berton

In superstitious Italy no one will ever wish you good luck. Instead, they will tell you in bocca al lupo (literally, ‘into the mouth of the wolf’). There are plenty of opportunities to learn peculiar Italian idioms at Bocca di Lupo, especially if you check out the loos, where the walls are decorated with culinary proverbs helpfully translated into English. But the main reason for visiting this new Soho Italian should be the chance to experience an outstanding gastronomic tour of most of Italy’s 20 regions, preferably perched next to the long white-marble counter with a full view of the kitchen.

Chef Jacob Kenedy, who previously worked at Moro, has borrowed the degustation concept now obligatory in French and Spanish restaurants and applied it to Italian regional cuisine. The result is a daily changing offering of starter-sized servings of skilfully prepared regional specialities – which the impeccably trained staff will suggest you mix and share – or larger portions for those who prefer a more traditional Italian meal.

The seasonal menu currently favours robust, comforting fare from northern and central Italy, with highlights such as plump porcini nestled on a wedge of grilled yellow polenta and topped with lardo di Colonnata, the melt-in-the-mouth cured lard from Tuscany.

Other must-try dishes, which seldom appear on restaurant menus in London, are crisp-fried artichokes, a Jewish-Roman speciality; or the crescent-shaped fried bread from Bologna accompanied by fluffy squacquerone cheese and fennel-fragranced salami.

Another timely treat (and nice superstitious touch) is the unctuous cotechino sausage with lentils, which is traditionally served around new year. Because lentils symbolise money, the more you eat, the richer you will supposedly grow in the coming year.

Those who have grown tired of tiramisu and panna cotta can look forward to more regional discoveries. If there’s no room for the luscious Sicilian cassata, a glassful of burnt almond granita with a bitter chocolate sorbet is a lighter, but equally indulgent, conclusion to a remarkable meal.

On our visit, just over a week after opening, the dining room was justifiably full. Despite Bocca di Lupo’s understated luxe atmosphere and outstanding food, prices are surprisingly lower than those of many so-called aspirational Italian restaurants in central London. As they say in Italy, botte buona fa buon vino (a good cask makes good wine).

Time Out December 2008