Polpo

Not many restaurants outside Italy advertise their cuisine as Venetian, but then there aren’t many quite like Polpo. Now a stable of six eateries, the brand began in 2009 as a Soho bacaro serving informal small plates with Prosecco and Aperol spritz. It quickly became something of a trendsetter, drawing queues down the street, thanks in part to it being one of the capital’s first restaurants to operate a no bookings policy. Now the pressure to get a table is off but the emphasis on delicious sharing food remains. The fritto misto and arancini are musts, and when you’re done, there’s a nightcap with your name on it in the basement Campari Bar. The original restaurant is in an 18th-century building that was once the home of the Venetian painter Canaletto, which you can’t argue, is a nice touch.

Not many restaurants outside Italy advertise their cuisine as Venetian, but then there aren’t many quite like Polpo. Now a stable of six eateries, the brand began in 2009 as a Soho bacaro serving informal small plates with Prosecco and Aperol spritz. It quickly became something of a trendsetter, drawing queues down the street, thanks in part to it being one of the capital’s first restaurants to operate a no bookings policy. Now the pressure to get a table is off but the emphasis on delicious sharing food remains. The fritto misto and arancini are musts, and when you’re done, there’s a nightcap with your name on it in the basement Campari Bar. The original restaurant is in an 18th-century building that was once the home of the Venetian painter Canaletto, which you can’t argue, is a nice touch.