Bocca di Lupo: A sublime selection of all things Italian

Chef Jacob Kenedy and manager Victor Hugo — coincidentally Les Misérables is on around the corner in Shaftesbury Avenue — both worked at Moro. Inspired and instructed, in 2008 they opened their own venture in an unkempt Soho street in premises that once housed Charlie Chester’s Casino. They were early into small plates — at the start of a meal a stack like gambling chips is placed on the table. The menu takes inspiration from the 20 regions of Italy and from the kitchen’s own ideas when the region is listed as BDL. Perfect radish, celeriac, pomegranate, pecorino salad with truffle dressing comes from there, ie, inside Jacob’s head. Rome is the go-to for fried fancies such as anchovy-stuffed sage leaves and Mammole artichokes. Pastas from anywhere are sublime, and when choosing roasts and grills it is well worth remembering that sausages are one of the staples made in-house. No luck with a booking or a place at the counter? Try the offshoot Vico in Cambridge Circus, specialising in southern Italian cooking. And definitely an ice cream from Gelupo.