Polpo Chelsea London

Of the restaurants in the Duke of York area, Polpo is the most reasonably priced for a mid afternoon snack.  As it was drizzling, we sat indoors where the service was excellent.  Tap water brought right away and very attentive.  Also finished tapas dishes were cleared quickly from the table.  The indoor space is tiny compared to the huge terrace where I can't speak for how service is.

We shared a half litre of the house red for 14.50.  It was light, pleasant, and summery. Food started arriving quite quickly.  First came the bruschetta of broad beans, mint and ricotta.  Ricotta has been salted quite heavily and broad beans were double shelled--a nice attention to detail.  One reason this dish was so delicious was because the bread had been drenched in good olive oil.  Order this because it is delicious, and not because it you are looking for a light, low calorie dish.

My companion really like the gnocchi with duck and black olive ragout.  For me the tomato sauce was a little over sweetened--reminding me more of Sicily than Venice.  However, it was tasty with olives and plenty of pulled duck meat.  Nice texture on the gnocchi.

I loved the Frito Misto.  Very thin tempura like batter that didn't taste greasy.  Prawns were served heads on but shelled.  There was also calamari and courgette.  I did ask for additional wedges of lemon that appeared quickly.

We will be back.  Maybe not the Chelsea branch where we happen to be rarely (we went to an exhibit at the Saatchi gallery) but definitely will try Soho.