A friend and I mapped out the places we wanted to eat in London when we were there recently, and Circolo Popolare was up there, basically just for the gorgeous look of it.
It completely feels like you're dining in a garden - very Instagram worthy. The greenery hanging down from the ceiling looked gorgeous with the giant white walls full of colorful bottles of wine/alcohol, making a cool menagerie look all framed and back lit.
We took a zillion photos here before we even ordered our food. But don't worry, we did actually eat here, and we ate (and drank) a lot!
I tried the Coco Loco drink, which is a fruity mocktail that comes in a little raunchy glass of a woman's chest. I loved the glass, and the drink inside was very refreshing and light. Would order again!
My friend had the My Pear Lady which was equally sweet as the Coco Loco, but did have a more light tasting sweetness with the pear flavor (and it did have booze in it, so that flavor too).
Our server was fabulous and very attentive whenever we needed to get a refill of water or order another drink or anything at all.
They are super well trained at being there at the exact right time to not interrupt anything, but not leave you hanging when you need them at your tale side for anything. A+ there.
For a starter, we tried the calamari and it was a little bit over-chewy. All the calamari I've had at comparable restaurants just basically melted in my mouth, but these did not have that feature, unfortunately. I'm not a huge fan of calamari in general, but my travel companion was - and she agreed on the chewiness aspect, so I wasn't just being picky.
After our disappointing appetizer, we needed a pick me up after we placed our entree orders.
I had the Big Momma Lager, on our server's recommendation. It was their own brew (Big Momma is the restaurant group name) - so I had to try it if it bore their name. It was a great lager, very light on the tongue and not too hoppy or anything. I would recommend trying that if you want a local beer that's not too heavy.
My friend and I shared two entrees, and THOSE were excellent. We had the Ravioli Alla Bolognese, which were delicious little raviolis with a creamy white sauce and crumbles of sausage on top. It was very light for being a pasta full of cheese, white sauce, and sausage! Just the right amount on the plate to not leave you hungry, but not over full. Perfect!
Our other entree was the Mafaldine Al Tartufo. This is another of Big Momma's specialties, and another recommendation from our server. It was long strands of tagliatelle paste in a super flavorful truffle and parmesan sauce. I'm not even a huge fan of mushrooms, but in this dish it just worked so well! Definitely recommend this one.
And to round out the meal, we shared two desserts.
My friend ordered the Mousse Al Cioccolato, which was an extremely rich and almost fudge like mousse, full of pralines, hazelnuts, and a salty addition that brought all the sugariness down a bit, in this one. It wasn't my favorite of the two, but if you're a huge chocolate fan - it might be yours.
I got the Tiramisu (my favorite dessert of all time) and it was decadently delicious, but with the sweetness alongside the espresso soak - it counterbalanced so well to not make it overly sugary. This also came out from a pan and they dished out a piece of it for you table-side, with was a super nice touch. They even asked if the piece was big enough or if I wanted more!
Suffice to say, I would definitely recommend popping into Circolo Popolare for the ambiance and service. Not everything was great, food wise, but the things that were good, were VERY good. Go for the Instagram stories but stay for a few bites to eat. read more