Bocca di Lupo, London

The Venue

“Bocca di lupo” apparently means “the wolf’s mouth” in Italian—I might be missing some cultural context here but the place seems anything but like the belly of a beast, it’s bright with a white marble countertop running alongside the open kitchen and the drinks area. You enter through a smallish store front into a long rectangle of an Italian food paradise. The place is usually packed (good idea to call and reserve ahead) and the open kitchen adds to the lively buzz. Perfect to cheer anybody up, be it with the food or the atmosphere.

The food is Roman style—simple ingredients with beautiful execution. The venue itself is fit for a date or a glass of wine and some small dishes alone—your call.

You could be sitting here but there’s a pandemic out there (written in July 2020)

Pardon the Dan Brown book—this is the artichoke with fried basil leaves

The tripe in all its glory

The Food

Starters

Fried Artichoke

This was a type of artichoke that is especially amenable to getting deep fried with its thin but still tasty leaves. Great appetizer to start with if you’re not squeamish about a bit of oil—not that it was too heavy.

Main Courses

Sauteed Tripe with Garlic and Tomatoes (Roman Style)

Coming from Turkey, we’re very used to having tripe in the form of a soup after a long night out but rarely does it feature as its own dish outside of that context. It’s a great offal because it has plenty of flavor of its own but it also has the ability to suck in a lot of aroma from the ingredients it’s cooked with. Here, it’s done simply with a tomato sauce, some garlic, fresh (basil?) leaves, and topped with cheese (possibly pecorino romano). It was gone in no time and is the ultimate flavor explosion.

Dessert

Gelato or Sorbets from Gelupo

Gelupo, Bocca di Lupo’s sister gelateria, is right across the street from Bocca di Lupo. In the restaurant, they offer a few of the popular flavors, but if you don’t see a line outside Gelupo from inside the restaurant, Gelupo might be worth a visit of its own for the variety of ice cream flavors on offer. Plus, you get to get your dessert to go and walk around a bit.

The Drinks

Wine

Sit at the Counter and Ask Them to Pour You a Glass

Bocca di Lupo has an extensive (Italian) wine list and the people working there are very knowledgeable about it. If you can manage, try to get a seat at the counter and ask the people behind the counter what would go well with the dishes you’ve ordered. I was happy I did that and I’m willing to bet you’d be so too.