Meatball Sliders.
Mac ‘n’ Cheese.
Truffled egg toast.
Moody lighting.
No phone line.
Spuntino is the new black. Or should that be grey? Or gray? This is a New York inspired restaurant after all. It is also the new sibling for Polpo and Polpetto, the burgeoning Soho empire of Russell Norman and business partner Richard Beatty.
Spuntino is inspired mainly by the many visits Norman has made to the bars and restaurants of Brooklyn, and more specifically an homage to the era of Nineteenth-Century machine-age Brooklyn. A chance discovery of some old tiles on one side as they were stripping back the walls, adds to the gritty, urban feel, supplemented by reclaimed bits and pieces and exposed brick. Head Chef is Rachel O’Sullivan, former sous chef at Polpo.
Nineteen bar stools, a single booth seating seven, and no bookings ensure the place crackles with a vitality and fluidity, with that frisson of anticipation that standing diners are filled with as a space becomes available. The solo diner suddenly becomes king, this is no place for marauding groups of ten – the victory comes in scoring that solitary stool left on the corner.
House Pickles – So simple, but there is sensitive pickling happening here, no shrill notes of mouth puckering acid, the integrity of each vegetable is maintained. Celery, fennel (a real winner, anise flavour singing), chicory. Earthy beetroot a world away from pickled beetroot nightmares.
Stuffed Fried Olives – Dense little bullets delivering a satisfying double saline kick, minced anchovy encased by meaty green olive, served warm and crusted. Gets the salivatory juices flowing.
Eggplant Chips - Slivers of yielding aubergine, crisp coating, studded with sesame seeds and spiked with fennel seeds. Zesty yoghurt for dipping, great bar nibbling.
Ground Beef & Bone Marrow Slider - At last, a slider worthy of the name has arrived in London. Perfectly sized patty in a cute bun, big meaty notes in all the right places, moist and timed expertly to pinkness, finishing with a bone marrow hit that adds the kind of flavour that lives only in wobbling animal fat. A triumph and a signature dish already.
Spiced Mackerel Slider – Zingy little burger, hint of heat, fresh clean mackerel flavour.
Soft-shell Crab, Tabasco aioli – Juicy, substantial bugger, deftly fried with a devastating crisp, light carapace. Thrilling. Perky Aioli on the side, shaved fennel salad.
Mac & Cheese – Comfort dish with the volume cranked up to twelve. No bechamel abuse padding out this baby, just mouthfuls of creamy, cheesy goodness with the addition of Fontina, what looks like slivers of leek, and a crispy topping for great textural balance. This would pull you out of a Force Ten Hangover.
Truffled Egg Toast – Audible groans of “oh my God” I heard at least twice from diners on a couple of visits. If the Piemontese penchant for shaving truffle over cooked egg is the stuff of your dining wet dreams, this delivers all of those illicit flavours in a brick of white toast. An unholy melding of cheesy topping, oozing yolk, whiff of truffle. Filthy dish. In the best possible way.
Lardo & Caperberry Crostini - Slices of pig fat on toast. Italians love their Lardo di Colonnata, from a very royal kind of pig, and while this is a bit too thick to melt translucently on the warm toast as that exalted example, this is still a great “Spuntini”, and an effective foil for a few drinks, punchy caperberry cutting through that piggy fat with a blast of pickle freshness.
Farm-house Cheddar Grits – Soothing, cheesy, ground corn, a cheeky side dish of honest simplicity. Mops up the Pinot Bianco a treat.
The drinks list is taut and focused, excellent cocktails are prepared by charming staff. Barman Ajax has come across from older sibling Polpo, and mixes a pitch perfect, and potent Clover Club. Wines are effective too, with own label Prosecco, Pinot Bianco and Merlot driving the short list, and the one Champagne, Jacquesson, offered by the glass a delight to see. Proper Champagne. £9.50 a glass is ridiculous value for Jacquesson.
Norman understands New York intimately and has successfully transported a huge slice of what makes the New York dining experience such a thrill, with its twists and turns and unexpected avenues. Too many restaurants have emerged over the years purporting to deliver us the real deal, whether it be the American diner or the ultimate burger. No sense of stage-management and hollow artifice here. It’s a current representation of a style and atmosphere which is happening in New York right now, with an obsessive attention to detail.
Spuntino has plenty of love in the design pouring out of every dimly lit corner. Staff are mostly wonderfully tattooed, making me a little jealous.
Informality, a menu that sprawls confidently from small bites at £3 and peaking at £11, a buzz and the feeling of a “scene”, and we have a venue that could pull you quickly, maddeningly, into a long term relationship.
At night it feels like the ultimate Prohibition Speakeasy, conspiratorial, flickering pools of light cutting swathes through the shadows. Dropping in on the way home for a Slider or Truffled Toast will be too, too easy – if you time it right.
A tattoo. I just need to get that tattoo….
61 Rupert Street
London
W1D 7PJ
