• About The Hedonist
  • Bar Talk-Where we’re drinking
    • The Polo Bar @ The Westbury
    • Pink Chihuahua
    • 69 Colebrooke Row – Review
    • The Bar at the George V Paris – Review
    • Duke’s Bar – Review
    • Bassoon Bar – Review
    • Banca – Review
    • THE EGERTON HOUSE BAR -Review
    • The Lucky Pig – Review
    • Beagle – Review
    • 214 Bermondsey – Review
  • London Restaurant Reviews
    • Caractère – Review Notting Hill
    • Patri – Review
    • Villa di Geggiano – Review
    • African Volcano @  Great Guns Social  
    • Beso – Review
    • Padella – Review
    • 28°-50° London Wine Workshop and Kitchen – Review
    • The Goring – Review
    • Freakscene – Review
    • CUB – Review
    • Tsukiji Sushi – Review
    • COYA Angel Court – Review
    • Nutbourne – Review
    • Galvin Bistrot de Luxe – Review
    • Palatino – Review
    • Lao Café – Review
    • Galvin at The Athenaeum – Review
    • 7 Park Place – Review
    • QP London – Review
    • Cinnamon Bazaar – Review
    • Chinese New Year @ Hakkasan
    • Dinner by Heston Blumenthal – Review
    • The Ritz @ Xmas – Review
    • Coriander – Review
    • El Parador – Review
    • Inamo – Review
    • Ostuni – Review
    • Chai Wu – Review
    • Shotgun BBQ – Review
    • Ormer Mayfair – Review
    • Review-The Angler
    • The Harcourt – Review
    • Pizzicotto – Review
    • The Painted Heron – Review
    • All Star Lanes – Review
    • Kurobuta Harvey Nichols – Review
    • Bangalore Express – Review
    • Zero Degrees – Review
    • Chakra – Review
    • Cottons Caribbean Restaurant and Salon de Rhum – Review
    • Lotus – Review
    • Charlotte’s W5 – Review
    • Massimo – Review
    • Brasserie Les 110 de Taillevent – Review
    • The Dalloway Terrace @ The Bloomsbury hotel – Review
    • Plum + Spilt Milk – Review
    • Bella Cosa – Review
    • Roka Aldwych – Review (with Bookatable)
    • Brasserie Gustave – Review
    • Muga – Review
    • Barrafina – Review
    • Charlotte’s Place – Review
    • The New St Grill – Review
    • The Lockhart – Review
    • Kêu – Review
    • The Richmond – Review
    • Allan Pickett @ Sanderson – Review
    • Scents of Summer Afternoon Tea @ The InterContinental London
    • Tartufi & Friends @ Harrods – Review
    • The Five Fields – Review
    • West Thirty Six – Review
    • Evoluzione @ Hotel Xenia Kensington – Review
    • Rex & Mariano – Review
    • Kitchen Table @ Bubbledogs – Review
    • John Doe – Review
    • Ceru – Review
    • Kouzu – Review
    • Enoteca Rabezzana – Review
    • Old Tom & English – Review
    • The Wallace – Review
    • Zaika – Review
    • Xmas at Boulestin – Review
    • Crocker’s Folly – Review
    • The Cavendish – Review
    • Laurent-Perrier at The New Angel – Review
    • Assado – Review
    • The Life Goddess – Review
    • Bubba Gump Shrimp Co – Review
    • Ember Yard – Review
    • The Palomar – Review
    • Blanchette – Review
    • Cannizaro House – Review
    • 1901 Restaurant at Andaz – Review
    • Notting Hill Kitchen – Review
    • The Guildford Arms – Review
    • Curry for Change @ Cafe Spice Namaste
    • Chotto Matte – Review
    • Lyle’s – Review
    • The Clove Club – Review
    • Quo Vadis – Review
    • Polpetto – Review
    • Osteria dell Angelo – Review
    • Amsterdam-Johannes Restaurant – Review
    • The Worlds End Market – Chelsea
    • Brigade Bar & Bistro- Review
    • La Polenteria – Review
    • Mele e Pere – Review
    • La Mancha – Review
    • The Well – Review
    • Harrods The Salad Kitchen – Review
    • Layla – Review
    • See Sushi – Review
    • Pescatori Mayfair – Review
    • Flesh & Buns – Review
    • Grain Store – Review
    • Acciuga – Review
    • Pizza Pilgrims – Review
    • Les Trois Garcons – Review
    • Little Social – Review
    • Review-Ametsa with Arzak Instruction
    • Review-Balthazar
    • Reviews-Brasserie Zedel
    • Review-Copita
    • Review-Hawksmoor Air St.
    • The Glasshouse – Review
    • Review-Coya
    • 214 Bermondsey – Review
  • Travel
    • Tuscany
      • Tuscany-A Florentine Feast with Anna Bini
      • Tuscany-Olive Oil Pressing in Pistoia-Olio Nuovo
      • Tuscany-Pecorino and Ricotta from the Pistoia Hills
  • Music
    • When A Gig Goes Wrong – Pop Music’s Hall of Shame

The Hedonist

Review-Spuntino

October 25, 2012 by Adrian Leave a Comment

Spuntino                            Soho

Follow @Hedonisttweets

61 Rupert St, London W1D 7PW

http://www.spuntino.co.uk/

Spuntino

Late one night restaurateur Russell Norman felt a bit peckish, crept down to his fridge and ate half a kilo of dolcelatte, the soft Italian blue-veined cheese, before going to his bed and as a consequence had a vivid and disturbing dream. He morphed into Robert de Niro’s ‘Johnny Boy’ character in Martin Scorsese’s film classic Mean Streets and was running in and out of little bars and restaurants in New York’s Little Italy district desperately trying to find the perfect Mac’n Cheese. (For those of us more familiar with the mean avenues of Penge or Surbiton this translates as macaroni cheese). As each attempt to find the perfect protein and pasta combo fails, he becomes increasingly violent, trashing the surrounding neighbourhood and creating a trail of carbohydrate fuelled destruction until the suave Russell’s super-ego could take it no more. Waking up in a cold sweat he knew that having established the Venetian Bacaro offer in London through his Polpo mini-chain, that his next mission must be to create the perfect faux Italo-American hip Lower East Side diner…

Spuntino is in Rupert St. , Soho, a street with enough sleaze factor to pass muster and close enough to restaurants Bocca di Lupo and Mele e Pere and the Camisa deli to allow the Hedonist a fleeting fantasy about the area regenerating its own Italian quarter. The joint is hard to find with the name (which translates as snack) being scratched into the rusted piece of metal that doubles as the restaurant’s sign.

The interior is artfully distressed with a handful of bar seats and even fewer tables. As with all of Norman’s establishments (as well as the Polpo chain he also owns Mishkins– a Jewish deli style eatery-in Covent Garden) the serving staff are tattooed and have that ‘between bands’ look. The food offer is similarly on trend being divided into snacks, sliders (mini burgers), salads, sides and plates.

Truffled Egg on Toast

Signature dishes include the aforementioned Mac’n Cheese (£9), an unctuous Truffled Egg on Toast (£6), Egg & Soldiers (£4) and the Ground Beef and Bone Marrow Slider (£5).

Spuntino Slider

Spuntino Fries

Despite the surface cool of Norman’s places there is a profound and delicious sense of playfulness about them. They are his toys, his playthings, inauthentic and somehow all the better for it. The food is fun and tasty and not to be taken too seriously. Spuntino takes no bookings and doesn’t even seem to have a phone so turn up on the off chance. If you have a hard to impress teenager (anyone up to the age of 25) so much the better, order a couple of Negronis at the bar while you wait your turn and enjoy the conceit. You never know, Bobby de Niro might just drop in for his Mac’n Cheese.
Spuntino on Urbanspoon

Square Meal

4 / 5 stars     

Filed Under: Restaurants & Bars

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tags

Acciuga Belgravia Brighton Bruno Loubet Camden Chelsea Chiswick Cocktails Covent Garden Curry D@D Fitzrovia Gallery Mess gin Hackney Harrison's Harrods Hoxton Indian Islington Italian Japanese Kensington King's Rd London London-Unattached Marylebone Mayfair Namaaste Kitchen Negroni Notting Hill pan-asian Peru Peruvian Pizza Restaurant sake Sam's Shoreditch Sloane Square Soho tapas The Hedonist The Saatchi Gallery Tony Conigliaro

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in