Polpo

This Venetian restaurant offers a little piece of Venice in the heart of Soho. Polpo in Beak Street is based on the bacari - or wine bars, especially good for a glass of Prosecco - frequently found in the city famous for its canals. An Italian restaurant is a fitting use for this building which was once home to the Venetian painter Canaletto - a blue plaque is testament to his stay here from 1749 to 1751. Owner Russell Norman draws on years of experience at Caprice Holdings (where he was operations director) and as general manager of Zuma to give his first solo venture an air of sophisticated charm. He has done well to draw on the talents of head chef Tom Oldroyd (previously at Alastair Little and Bocca Di Lupo) whose Italian menu is typical of the type you'd find in the bacari of Venice offering small plates and traditional cicheti (read salt cod, mariated sardines and swordfish carpaccio), northern Italian wines as well as the classic Italian dishes. The attractive interior of exposed brickwork gives this early eighteenth century building a modern appeal, finished off with a tin ceiling above and Victorian tiled floor under foot.