Restaurants / Reviews
Polpo – restaurant review
Hot on the heels of The Ivy opening in Clifton comes another restaurant arriving in BS8 that made its name in London.
On a recent Tuesday lunchtime, the three co-owners of a nearby Italian restaurant had come to check out the new arrival (or should that be rival?), sitting on tables in the sunshine on the wide Whiteladies Road pavement.
Polpo is modelled on the spit-and-sawdust bacari wine bars of Venice and serves small plates of Venetian-inspired food made to be shared.
is needed now More than ever
Owned by Russell ‘The Restaurant Man’ Norman who used to be operations director of Caprice Holdings which runs The Ivy, Polpo is yet another sure sign that Bristol’s bar and restaurant scene has not yet reached that crest of a wave; not by a long way.
It’s virtually the law here to have a Campari or Aperol Spritz on arrival, but the pop of corks from behind the bar showed that bellinis made with Polpo’s own prosecco were also proving popular.
Norman has called his sense of style his “perverse idea of beauty; I like emphasising the ugly.” Here in what used to be Greek restaurant Entelia, a few windows towards the rear of the dining room remain filled in by breezeblocks, while cracked white tiles opposite the bar have been artfully distressed.
There are no tablecloths on the tables but white napkins in place of lamp shades.
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Read more: The Ivy Clifton Brasserie – restaurant review
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Food arrives from the kitchen when it’s ready, which for us included marinated baby octopuses (£3) that could have put up a good fight with little Lego men.
It seemed almost cruel to be eating these tiny creatures, but Polpo’s symbol is an octopus as seen on the labels on the house bottles of wine and recipe books for sale at a discount price behind the bar, so needs must.
From the pizzete section of the menu, a pizza bianca (£6) came with parmesan, fresh thyme and onion and was a fine example of this classic Italian street food.
The grilled focaccia (£3) was topped with small sprigs of rosemary for extra flavour, but on another table the potato and parmesan croquettes had barely been touched.
As Radiohead played on the stereo, classic meatballs the size of golfballs arrived followed by braised scallops sliced up and served in a delicious juice with baby gem lettuce, pancetta and gloriously fresh peas.
The sharing concept makes for a convivial lunch and although the dining room was less than half full on what was only the second day of opening, most of the diners seemed to know at least one person on another table.
It’s already a sociable daytime joint and looks set to be a popular evening venue, either sitting outside on a warm summer’s night or propped up at the bar working through the wine list.
The Whiteladies ‘strip’ of vertical drinking establishments is a distant memory now that this corner of Bristol is becoming a mini London enclave.
Polpo, 50 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2NH
0117 973 3100
Photos by Doug Jewell
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