UK: Spuntino

Spuntino opened on March 14 and I was there on March 17. Even in London, I was trying to get to restaurants as soon as they opened! One of my British pals had forwarded me an email sometime in December  about Spuntino and how it was supposed to be the hot new opening and I should be on the look out. I promptly forgot until I saw mentions of it on Twitter. Well, it must be fate because when we walked in, there were two seats available at the bar.

We were immediately given eggplant fritters on the house and I indulged in a cocktail at lunch. I ordered a Seelbach (bourbon, champagne, triple sec, bitters) which I’ve had at First & Hope in LA. Spuntino’s version was refreshing and topped with Prosecco. I can’t argue with bubbles.

I was completely prepared to embrace the language (British English) and call eggplant” aubergine” but the guy actually called the fritters eggplant so what can I say?

We ordered some veg to start in the form of house pickles and a lovely fresh duck ham salad.

I kept my eye on Twitter after the opening and the thing that everyone enjoyed the most was the truffled egg toast. Of course we ordered it.

I quite liked eating the toast with the soft shell crab in this sort of ad hoc sandwich way. The cheerful man who seated us made sure we knew we could add more Tabasco to our aioli if we wanted more of a kick.

Oh hello, this is a real burger! After having a slightly weird one at Borough Market, I had sworn off burgers. But we couldn’t resist this version with bone marrow. Bone marrow! Must.get.it.now.

What I enjoyed the most about Spuntino was the vibe. It reminded me quite a bit of Portland. Sitting around the bar, watching the tattooed guys work, being in the slightly seedy area (this was the red light district once), it was all so great. Plus, they had lots of bourbons to choose from. I had to get the Wild Turkey bourbon brownie. And our server convinced us to get the peanut butter and jelly which I was unsure of at first. Apparently it is NOT bread and jelly. It’s actually peanut butter ice cream with a lovely raspberry compote.

I also dug the fig in the brownie, giving it a great texture. And a la mode? Am I home? No, but it seemed almost like it.

** I apologize to the girl sitting next to me at lunch. I was so distracted having a good time, I neglected to really chat with her about her camera, which was the same as mine- the Canon S95. I almost certain she was a food blogger. If she ever comes across this post, I hope you enjoyed your lunch as much as I did mine!

Spuntino

61 Rupert St., London W1D 7PL