With building facades covered in beautiful street art and its residents trying hard to look like they’re not trying hard to look like a Hipster™, Shoreditch is the trendy London borough in the East of the city. It’s full of unique food options, fun bars, and indie shops, making it the most popular place for young people to congregate on weekends.
When a friend and I wandered through Shoreditch in a search for a cafe to get some work done, we passed by a tiny Italian restaurant that immediately jumped out at us. This may or may not have been due to the “Michelin Guide 2017” sticker plastered on the window. The sticker meant, as we later learned from our friend Google, that Popolo was awarded a Bib Gourmand, the second-tier award under a Michelin star.
And righfully so – Chef Jon Lawson and his team are knocking it out of the park with this one. The food is simple yet packed with flavor, but it would be a mistake to visit expecting traditional Italian fare. Instead, Popolo goes for new flavor combinations to make simple, traditional ingredients sing.
The place is tiny. There are two floors, with the ground floor consisting only of seating at the gray slate bar, and the top with about six tables and some window seats for great people watching.
Our lovely server explained that the food was “tapas style” (read: very small portions) so we should get at least four dishes. We started with a couple pieces of focaccia drizzled with top-shelf olive oil, and then decided to split some appetizers.
The burrata with peas was deliciously creamy, and the crispy flat bread that came along with the focaccia was the perfect vehicle for shoveling it into our mouths.
The highlight of the meal, for me, was the octopus. It was soft, succulent, and fresh, not chewy, and delicately grilled to offer a hint of charr. The amount of octopus meat was actually quite generous considering the size of the plate. It was served atop a heap of baba ganoush, which originally sounded like an odd combo, but together the flavors balanced each other like cookies and creme. This is a must-have.
For our “main” dishes, which were about the same size as the other dishes, I ordered the ravioli with spinach and ricotta in a sage butter sauce, and my friend ordered the steak with vegetables. The steak was soft on the inside and nicely cooked on the outside, and apparently very tasty (I don’t eat red meat, so you’ll have to take my friend’s word for it – but don’t worry, she has excellent taste).
The ravioli was well-made and flavorful. The sauce was all butter without feeling greasy. The pasta dough itself tasted very fresh and wasn’t overcooked, and the sage flavor completed the dish. My only complaint was that I wish there had been more on my plate.
(This ravioli is similar to a pasta dish at Padella near London Bridge, which inspired a copycat recipe that I will be sharing very soon. You won’t want to miss that one.)
We were both feeling a bit peckish even after our main dishes were licked clean, so we naturally ordered dessert. The dessert options were all very tempting, but the flourless chocolate cake was a no-brainer. (If you’re new here, check out my flourless chocolate cake recipe, which just so happens to be my all time favorite cake.)
This cake was, in short, divine. It was clearly taken out from the fridge well in advance, so it was soft and smooth and melted as soon as it touched my tongue. The cream that came with it was cultured, which means it had a creme fraiche flavor. I was expecting freshly whipped cream, so it was a bit of an unpleasant surprise. Luckily, the cake needed no adornment to be perfect.
While the prices were reasonable for the quality of the food, I would say you may need to spend a bit more to eat enough to be satisfied (if you have an appetite, at least). Service was attentive and friendly, the ambiance was welcoming and not too loud, and the overall experience was one that I very much hope to repeat. If you’re in London, it would be a damn shame to let this little gem pass you by.
