Spuntino // Soho

I admit. I spent months, months, finding the perfect restaurant for my birthday. I saved money, I need to have the perfect place. Last year I went to Dishoom and the food was amazing (photos came out way too dark for a post!). 

This year, I needed to find something that I identify with. A dim lit old fashioned Brooklyn style diner? What? Ok I needed to be there. This was in November so my memory may be a bit foggy, which doesn't hide the fact that Spuntino was a memorable experience!

Anyway, we headed there with time to spare - no bookings policy means a big queue, as most places in London. Some beers made the wait bearable, and it didn't feel long at all.

Sat down and was not worried about budget, being a place with a small plates style of food, you know you're down to spend some. And earn some (delicious food).

 Look how cool this is! On the way to the bathroom. 

We seem to have a tendency to order fried chicken a lot... This one was juicy and crispy, as it is coated in buttermilk.

I was mostly excited about the salt beef fritters (not sure what the sauce is now). It was good, but I was expecting chunks of salt beef. It was all a bit... creamy? 

Now here's the thing, I may not remember the other dishes as well, but this, this I remember. Truffled Egg Toast. Every blogger raved about this so my expectations were high. What could be so amazing about a piece of cheese toast with an egg in the middle. I am unsure of how they do it, but the whole thing is quite soft and every bit that is coated in runny yolk was amazing to eat. The star was the truffle oil. I love its intense flavour, it's quite hard for me to describe but the only word that comes to mind seems to be closed. A closed taste? 

This photo is quite the sad attempt of capturing the food! These dishes came last and I was not surprised about them. Smoked Mackerel (seems to be taken off the menu), came hot - for some reason I expected it cold - so the first impression wasn't that great, the warmth of the fish caused its flavour to be almost too fishy, and not in a good way. It was too strong for me. Luckily my boyfriend quite liked it and finished the plate. Bonus points, he didn't enjoy the truffled toast and left that one for me to finish!

The very last dish was a chilly hot dog, which interestingly I cannot seem to find on the online menu anymore. I was underwhelmed by these, as they came off as ordinary hot dogs - we still finished them, obviously. 

      

The cocktails were great, but their names don't come to mind now. I recommend you go there and try anyone off the list, as you won't find your usual mojito - there's always a twist.

I really liked Spuntino because of the vibe and the decoration. I appreciate the food concept but the flavours were hit and miss. Looking at the online menu, seems like they changed the dishes I enjoyed the least so I would be happy to come back and give it another go! This time I'll definitely order dessert.

Spuntino

61 Rupert Street

W1D 7PW 

London