Ronnies, Ms Pippa and Polpo.

On paper it looked so perfect. Waking up to a beautiful crisp Sunday morning, a  leisurely trip into town with friends to enjoy some wonderful lunchtime jazz at Ronnie’s Scotts followed by a bite to eat in Polpo, Soho. Of course you can always guarantee that our transport system will let you down, but we get there in the end.

Even the administrator was happy. Mind you, this may be due to the fact that I had just mentioned that the frequent gym visits had clearly been worth the effort , adding that from behind she could be mistaken for Ms Pippa Middleton. That certainly perked her up. Okay, admittedly I had been wearing my reading glasses at the time rather than seeing glasses, but she had not noticed and as my fellow male companions will know , if the sun is shining, try not to encourage clouds or in my case thunder storms with such minor details!

We arrive at Ronnie Scott’s and try and order a couple of nice small dishes to nibble on, but sadly as it’s a Sunday lunchtime session, it’s a full meal or nothing! . Not to worry, we really enjoy watching a great New Orleans Jazz band TJ Johnson. This place really has a fantastic atmosphere and is highly recommended, long live Ronnie Scott’s.

So we then dash around the corner to the very appealing Polpo on Beak Street and manage to bag some stools at the bar. The very nice and kind waitress reccoemds a selection of starter type dishes from this Italian style taps restaurant followed by some equally Moorish mains for us to share as a group. Big boss and friend are very happy with their fig, prosciutto and mint crostino, although our chopped liver crostino lacks a bit of seasoning and that something extra to cut through the rich pate. Our main dishes are quite  good with a nice Fritto Misto, but our roast Pumpkin with prosciutto and ricotta salata is quite bland and lacking any ricotta or salad. It was nearing closing, so perhaps they were short on some ingredients?

As we waddled out like a pair of  King Penguins bellies full on both wonderful Italian food and wine, my wife whispers in my ear “have I still got the Pippa look?” I replied rather foolishly that I only had my reading glasses with me so could not say. The sky suddenly darkened with heavy clouds and thunder storms were forecast – will I never learn!

P.S Next week the Chief tells me she is off to the “Sanctuary” in town with some girley friends. I assume this must be some kind of clinic where shopaholics go and sit in a circle and hold hands to find ways of not spending so much of their partners money, so thank heavens for that. I will report shortly on whether this proves successful, but in the meantime, it gives me a chance to review another eatery solo.