| Ambiance: |  (4 / 5) |
| Service: | (4.5 / 5) |
| Value for money: | (3 / 5) |
| Toilets: | (4.5 / 5) |
Spuntino was recommended to me by a colleague at work, and after a little research I found that it was within the same chain as Polpo, Da Polpo etc. Ben and I hadn’t met in a while so we decided to give it a go. Admittedly neither Ben or I are any good with directions but this was ridiculous, it took so long to find, but that was largely because there’s next to no markings on the shop front. I’d recommend counting down the numbers on the buildings to enable you to find Spuntino a little quicker. When inside, it all got a lot better though, it had the bar style layout that we both generally really like and seemed pretty busy for a Tuesday lunchtime.
I really loved the menu too, just a simple A3 piece of paper but with a very rustic feel. I ordered one of their vampire cocktails, which in hindsight, I should’ve read that absinthe was in it and called it a day there and then, so I didn’t like it. One bit. The waitress was lovely though and gave me a wine instead. All drinks are served with complimentary popcorn, which I loved. It definitely adds an extra touch and is something Ben and I have both mentioned to people since, so does increase the word of mouth of a place. It also turned out that the popcorn was the best thing we ate in Spuntino.
The menu was more tapas themed, with traditional Italian favourites adopting an American twist. We ordered deep fried olives, pulled pork sliders and buttermilk chicken wings and were surprised how quickly the food came. In short, the food was massively disappointing, for all the hype and trip advisor reviews I’d read about the place, I was expecting something semi-spectacular. The olives tasted overly salty and greasy, the buttermilk chicken had hardly any meat on it and the slider bun was dry. We were not happy and we decided to leave the food, save the calories and go to our favourite tapas bar so far, Copita. The waitress was really apologetic, saying usually the food is really good and maybe we ordered the wrong things. She ended up taking the chicken off the bill so we still left with smiles on our faces because Spuntino was a lovely venue, the wine was good and the service more than made up for the food. But I still won’t be going back, unless dragged.
Recommendation:
I’d recommend Spuntino but ask for the waiter/waitresses recommendations before ordering.
Extra Information:
Address: 61 Rupert Street, London W1D 7PW
Website: http://www.spuntino.co.uk/
NTK: Spuntino doesn’t take reservations so be prepared to queue, or go early enough to try and avoid the crowds!
