• Home
  • Travel UK
  • Travel Europe
    • Belgium
    • Croatia
    • Czech Republic
    • First Visit
      • Bulgaria
      • Netherlands
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Slovenia
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Italy
      • Sicily
    • Ireland
    • Portugal
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Travel General
    • Caribbean Travel
      • Antigua
      • Barbados
      • Grenada
      • St Lucia
    • Ecuador
    • Egypt
    • India
    • Qatar
    • Mexico
    • Oman
    • Rodrigues and Mauritius
    • Sri Lanka
    • USA
  • Recipes
    • Soups
    • Lunch
    • starter
    • Mains
    • side dish
    • Desserts
    • Cocktails and Drinks
    • Cakes and Sweets
    • 5:2 Diet Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Fish and Shellfish
    • Poultry
    • Meat
    • Balcony Gardening
  • Restaurants
    • Chelsea
    • Kings Cross
    • Knightsbridge
    • Marylebone
    • Mayfair
    • Oxford Circus
    • Soho
    • South London
    • North London
    • Victoria and Pimlico
    • West London
    • Out of London
  • Events
    • London Life
      • Foodie London
      • Visiting London – Five Must Do Sights
      • Visiting London – London Travel Tips
      • Miscellaneous
  • Giveaway
  • February 19, 2019

London Unattached - London Lifestyle Blog

Luxury London Lifestyle Blog for the over 40s with food, travel, diet and restaurant reviews - London Unattached

Bocca Di Lupo Soho

November 7, 2011 by Fiona Maclean 1 Comment

Tweet
Pin
Share
Flip
Share

Bocca Di Lupo – How to abort a Soho Gastro Tour

My foodie friend decided I needed some education into the ‘new’ Soho and we planned a happy afternoon tour of some of the more fashionable places that had popped up since I last worked in central London and ate out regularly.  The idea was to eat a few ‘small plates’ in 2 or 3 of the restaurants and bars and to finish up with a dessert somewhere else.

Princi, Wardour St, Soho, London

It all started to fall apart when I turned up at our starting point to a text message telling me he was running late.  So I wandered into a VERY busy Princi on Wardour Street with the intention of ordering a coffee and waiting.  Now, I am small and I couldn’t work out where to order.  The bar was lined with people being served food.  The second bar at the back was also busy.  I tried to get someone to serve me at one of them.  Then tried the other.  I felt invisible and ignored.  And then I got just a bit grumpy.  It didn’t help that I was hungry and the food looked good.  So, I went and loitered outside.

bread and olives at Bocca di Lupo

When my friend arrived he dragged me off to Bocca di Lupo I think in an attempt to restore my faith in food.  Or perhaps it was just because he loves the place.  Now,  the idea was that we ordered a couple of small dishes at Bocca di Lupo before moving on.  But the kitchen was about to close (3pm) and we ordered rather quickly.  So, what was meant to be 2 portions of fritti romani, (one portion of artichoke a la guidia and one of  the olive pork dish) turned into 2 portions of each of the fritti romani (there are five on the menu).  And our ‘mains’  – a plate of fried squid, aubergine, red prawn and lemon, and a dish of seabream carpaccio with rosemary oil dressing.

Carpaccio of Seabream at Bocca di Lupo

And you know what, it was one of those mistakes that turn out pretty well.  The carpaccio was delicate and fragrant with rosemary oil.  The various fritti romani gave us a real mixture of tastes and flavours.

Artichoke a la guidia

I ate both the olive stuffed with minced veal and pork fritti romani (my friend doesn’t eat meat), light mouthfuls of herby minced meat in a crisp breadcrumb shell.  I loved the artichoke a la guidia and could have eaten a whole plate of the Pollack baccala

fried squid, aubergine, red prawn and lemon

Given that this was a totally unplanned set of food it worked remarkably well. I suspect I would have asked for a side order of salad if we’d actually planned to eat a full meal there.  The bill for all the above, olives, bread and two glasses of red wine each was around £70 including service.  So, in my book very good value and rather better food than da Polpo.  Now I just need to go back…with someone who eats meat…so I can feast on some of the game options;)

Wood burning oven at Princi

We’d agreed to go back to Princi for coffee and a cake.  And, I have to admit, once I got over my grumpiness, the cakes were pretty good.

selection of cakes at Princi

I had an apricot flan, while my friend chose one of the cream filled pancakes.

Apricot flan at Princi

And, my expresso hit the spot!  I have to say, while the food was good, I wouldn’t go there for a full meal because the service was just too chaotic and it was anything but relaxing.  If I worked in the area, it would be the perfect place to pick up something quick for lunch or escape the office for half an hour.

Princi, Wardour Street, Soho London

 

 

 

Bocca di Lupo

12 Archer Street, London W1D 7BB

0207 734 2224

 

Princi

135 Wardour Street, London W1F 0UT

Related Post

Enoteca Rabezzana – Review
Tewkesbury Park Hotel – the perfect place to stay,...
Pasta Remoli Restaurant – Review
L’Amorosa – Review 

Filed Under: Foodie London, Restaurant Tagged With: Italian, Italian Restaurant, london, Restaurant, Soho

Comments

  1. Janice (Farmersgirl Kitchen) says

    November 25, 2011 at 7:12 pm

    hee hee love your grumpiness, I think we become less tolerant of bad service as we ‘mature’. I know I do!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Me

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Find Me

blogl

About London-Unattached

  • About Fiona Maclean
    • Writing for Other Publications
  • Enquiries/PR
  • Links to Other Sites
  • London Unattached Contributors
  • London Unattached Privacy Policy
  • Media Pack
  • Travel Bloggers Influencer Network

Recently Published

  • Celebrate Holi Festival at Cinnamon Kitchen
  • The White Horse Hotel, Dorking 
  • Win Baileys Chocolates for Mother’s Day
Find My 5:2 Diet Recipes quickly and easily

Search London Unattached



copyright © london-unattached.com