ReviewsFebruary 2002 – Theatregoer magazine

Food for Thought – Astrid Ronning King’s legendary appetite is happily sated when she visits ‘Italian Tapas’ bar, Aperitivo, in Soho

Aperitivo bills itself as an Italian Tapas’ bar, primarily – says manager Ed Saunders – in order to persuade well-mannered knife-and-fork-prone Brits that it’s ok to eat with your fingers. (Being American, I – of course – have not such worries and dive right in with my face.)

It’s Italian country fare, the food familiar to farmers and artisans for centuries – and the quality is not just high, it’s outstanding. Clearly this is food made with the best ingredient around: love. The informality of the place and reasonable prices makes Aperitivo a real find. No surprise that it’s the baby sister of Assaggi in Notting Hill, winner of Best Restaurant of the Year.

Its clean, friendly, music inoffensive, lighting fine and wall colour I don’t remember (too busy looking at plate), wood tables, no cloths, chairs ok, and up front by the window and around a couple of low tables pushed together: three big squishy leather couches making you want to lie down for a nap on your way out. Nice waiters (no connection). It opens at noon, with last orders at 11pm.

I like eating before the theatre. Or after, or both, plus drinks and ice cream at the interval, plus snacks when I get home, plus any dead sweets covered in fluff from the bottom of my bag or the well in the car where you’re supposed to keep change (let me know when you start to worry about my recommending restaurants) and Aperitivio suits me perfectly. It’s quiet at 6.30pm, when it’s good for deep conversations; and buzzy and packed by 10.15pm (so book if going late).

If driving, try Golden Square. Get there by 6.15pm, find a single yellow line and wait – they’re legal after 6.30pm. Golden Square used to be a plague pit in the 1600s, but it should be okay now.

The Aperitivo menu is divided into mean, fish, vegetables and salad, and you should order four or five things and share (go with someone who eats slowly, or say ‘Quick, look over there!’ a lot). Four dishes will feed two, you can always order more if needed. Good service. They keep an eye on your progress and don’t dump everything in front of you and then disappear forever.

Dream CuisineYou get carasatu to start, also know as Sardinian ‘music paper’. A crisp, melt-in-the-mouth water-thin appetiser that has to be imported. Drizzle olive oil on it and slap any hand taking out of turn.

You then want le piadine di Aperitivo – thin pancakes filled with Parma ham, cheese and rocket; or the carasatu with grilled aubergine, percorino and tomato; the sgabei de Aperitivo con salsiccia and red onions – crispy shells of dough with sausage and red onions; or the vegetarian version with courgettes, olives, tomatoes and soft cheese; or maybe the breast of chicken wrapped with pancetta and filled with gorgonzola and tarragon. They wanted me to try grilled lamb cutlets but I was in more of a fagottino mood (you know how it is), which is a parcel of carasatu filled with tomato and percorino and a poached egg, all tied up with a spring onion and ready for posting down that big mailbox just under my nose. Don’t forget the prawns wrapped in bacon, or the torta di verdure – Swiss chard, potatoes and leeks. Better fried courgettes you will not find anywhere and the walnut salad with celery, fennel, endives and Parmesan is so perfect and crisp that even non-fennel-and-endives-likers will get grabby about it. Let me know the verdict on the octopus with potatoes, paprika and olive oil; and on the grilled blue steak tuna. The problem is that you want to try it all.

Then there’s dessert. You want the ramekins of chocolate mousse or the panna cotta – a silky Italian cream custard.

Italian wine list. Some cocktails. Wine prices range from £11.50 for an Orvieto Classico DOC 2000 or a Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 1999 – to £30 for some others I don’t have a clue about. Our S’Eleme Vermentino di Gallura 200, recommended by our nice waiter, was cold, white and – get this – came in a bottle and went down without any trouble whatsoever. And you cant say fairer that that. Coffees, espressos, etc…… The mint in the mint tea is real. What a class act.

Dinner for two, including wine, water and service charge: £48 for pre-show; £57 post-show, due to increased appetite from legging it across Soho from Donmar.