Buzzing Bocconcino

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IT was the work of a Sicilian photographer that piqued my interest in Bocconcino, an Italian place in Soho.

This restaurant in Great Marlborough Street is a stone’s throw from the gallery that is exhibiting three decades of images by Letizia Battaglia from Palermo.

After an hour among her photos, I cycled past Bocconcino on my way home – tempted in by the warm lighting and happy crackle of conversation.

Through the window, I watched chefs feeding their wood-fired oven. The swish room glows with swathes of brass, wood and marble.

But every table was full – so I was directed to their sister restaurant in Mayfair.

It’s always odd visiting this posher part of London, sprinkled with five-star hotels, designer shops and drivers idling shiny cars on double yellows.

The original Bocconcino has been trading in Berkeley Street for more than a decade. It’s a huge space set over two floors, connected by a wrought-iron staircase.

The ground floor is the funkier floor, where they host live music and DJs. A large potted olive tree grows slowly in the centre of the room.

I was led upstairs, which is a touch more formal.

The menu here takes inspiration from every region of Italy and is a classic mix of antipasti, pizzas, pastas and meat and fish, often cooked on the Josper grill.

The signature dish is tagliatelle with wild boar ragu, a speciality of Tuscan cuisine.

As I flicked the pages, the manager explained that it’s been the toughest year for restaurants that he can remember: “Everyone thinks because you’re in Mayfair it’s easy – but it’s not.”

In less than two years, several big restaurants have shut nearby, including El Norte and Il Borro.

His friend at the Ferrari dealership is complaining of a rash of cancelled orders.

Bocconcino seems to be weathering the storm. The room was busy, with a mix of couples, men in suits and visitors from out of town.

My best dish was a pasta: ribbons of homemade tagliolini in an umami-rich, buttery sauce topped with red Sicilian prawns and a dusting of bottarga. This cost £29 and its intense flavours will linger long in the memory.

The parmigiana, too, was just right: layered aubergines oozing cheese in all the right places (£20). The juices are best mopped up with their rosemary flatbreads.

Less dazzling was a dish of avocado halves filled with a salmon and crab tartare; the texture so soft that I was minded to eat it with a spoon.

If you were in the mood, you could spend big at Bocconcino. Restaurants feel expensive nowadays – and these are Mayfair prices.

During November, the restaurant does offer deals on weekend brunches and free glasses of fizz for early diners.

Peddling back through Soho, their new outpost was still humming. But for dessert I stopped for ice cream at Gelupo – always a reliable bet.

Bocconcino Soho
59 Great Marlborough St, W1F
Bocconcino Mayfair
19 Berkeley St, W1J
Bookings: 0207 499 4510
www.bocconcinorestaurant.co.uk
@bocconcinolondon