Polpo

Two years after opening, Polpo still enjoys the buzz that makes people queue for one hour to get a table. The no-reservation policy is certainly a very clever strategic decision in this sense, as customers feel like they are the happy fews who manage to get in this hip place. Polpo is not a pretentious place though, it has a rustic styles that gives it an effortless cool.

As Polpo serves tapas portion of Italian food, at reasonable prices, it was the perfect place for a girls night out dinner with L. and N. While waiting we had a bottle of Sylvaner (Valle Isarco 2008, £33) at the bar, not so great.

We ordered two appetizers which were delicious but so tiny that it was difficult to share them.

Left: Artichoke & prosciutto, right: Fennel salami & pickled radicchio grissino

The rest of our order followed quickly. The dishes we liked most were the pizzetas, the cuttlefish risotto and the polpette. We liked less the runner beans with parmesan, and the scallop dish which were rather bland.

Pizzetta bianca

Spinach, Parmesan & soft egg pizzetta

Cuttlefish and ink risotto, gremolata

Polpette

Grilled polenta

Runner beans and pamesan

Scallops, garden peas and bacon

The affogato al caffe is simply an expresso with a scop of vanilla ice cream: a great and simple way to finish a meal. The flourless almond cake was good as well but the roasted peach was too sweet.

left: Affogato al caffè, top:roasted peach, right:flourless orange and almond cake,
mascarpone

Cost: £100 for 3 with 1 bottle of white wine
£1-£2 for small appetizers, £5-£8 per dish (tapas size)