Bocca di Lupo – Scandelights

Birthday week!

Published on August 13, 2018August 13, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

My last week in London before going on holiday was also my birthday week (and my friend Gaby’s) so it was rather busy as I also needed to pack and finish off work at the same time.

I started celebrating my birthday already on the Monday with drinks at Bar Americain followed by dinner at an old favourite; Bocca di Lupo. It was really nice and great food as always and so a real treat!

On Tuesday I mainly packed for holiday but got most of it done which was great!

Wednesday was my actual birthday and after work a few colleagues took me out for drinks before I had dinner with the girls at another old favourite; Kurobuta Chelsea.

Thursday I did errands and finished packing and Friday night I celebrated Gaby’s birthday eating tapas and gelato in Soho. The perfect start to my holiday but I wouldn’t stay out late as my flight was at 7am the next morning. My two weeks in Sweden were wonderful and I will tell you all about it soon!

Bocca di Lupo, Soho – revisited

Published on December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 by HannaLeave a comment

A few weeks ago we had a leaving dinner for Phuong – another American friend of mine to return to the US of A. While I don’t blame her for choosing sunny California over dreary England, she’ll still be missed!

The venue Phuong chose for her leaving dinner is one of my favourite restaurants in town; understated and cosy Italian Bocca di Lupo in Soho.

We started with some bubbly and the Bocca Prosecco was very good! We also got some bread, grassy olive oil to dip the bread in and some olives while we had a look at the menu.

We then shared quite a lot of starters. First calamari with baby squid which was really good!

Our waiter recommended the crescentine; deep-fried flatbreads, with cream cheese and salmon roe. He wasn’t wrong, they were delicious!

The fried sweetbreads with crispy artichoke I’ve had before and it was just as nice this time. The sweetbreads were nice and soft but with a crispy exterior.

We also had a plate of crudo consiting of tuna tartar with pine nuts, wonderfully sweet marinated prawns and delicious scallops. Especially the prawns were absolutely wonderful!

We then continued with primi and pasta. Again we shared a few dishes. First up was gnocchi with wild garlic pesto and mozzarella. Really nice and the gnocchi were amazing!

The tortelloni with prosciutto and cheesy sauce was also really nice.

But the orecchiette with n’duja, red onions and tomato was the winner – amazing! A nice combination of spicy, creamy and a little acidity.

Finally we shared some roasted pumpkin with parmesan…

… and this absolutely wonderful saltimbocca (the picture does not do it justice) and creamy polenta. We were too full to even consider pudding – but what a feast! Writing about it I’m already longing to go back.

Literally the last night with the gang… 😦

Bocca di Lupo, 12 Archer Street, London W1D 7BB

Lunch at Bocca di Lupo, Soho

Published on July 22, 2013 by Hanna1 Comment

My colleague Caroline and I can talk about restaurants for hours and during once such conversation we realised that a) neither of us had been to Bocca di Lupo and b) that we were both dying to go. So we pencilled in a lunch and went last week.

Bocca di Lupo is a well known Italian restaurant in Soho with its own gelato place across the road. The chef patron Jacob Kenedy is also the author of my pasta bible; The Geometry of Pasta. It is a mystery why I haven’t been here before. And after this fabulous lunch I realised how much I have been missing out by not going, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I start going all the time now to make up for not going in the past…

The menu is quite extensive and I could literally eat everything on it, but in the end we managed to settle for a great spread. As well as a short description of each dish the menu also features the region of origin for the dish, which I thought very interesting.

We started off with some bread of course, and lovely buttery olives. The foccacia with caramelised onions was my favourite.

The raw Sicilian red prawns were lovely and sweet and flavoured lightly with orange zest. Absolutely gorgeous! And the portion was very generous too.

I can never resist stuffed courgette flowers and these with mozzarella and anchovies was an utter delight. Crisp on the outside and not too gooey on the inside with lovely robust flavours.

Thinly sliced courgette with chilli, garlic and parsley was a fresh addition. Hotter than expected but full of flavour.

Barbecued lamb sweetbreads and artichoke with olive oil and lemon was also amazing. The sweetbreads were tender and melt-in-the-mouth delicious and the artichokes made a great contrast with its charred flavours.

Another lovely dish was the linguine with dark crab meat and tomato. It was creamy yet light and absolutely divine.

I was really impressed with Bocca di Lupo; the food was excellent, the staff friendly and efficient and the atmosphere great and bustling.

Bocca di Lupo, 12 Archer Street, London W1D 7BB