1. Photograph: Lateef Okunnu
    | Photograph: Lateef Okunnu |
  2. Photograph: Circolo Populare
    | Photograph: Circolo Populare |
  3. Photograph: Jérôme Galland
    | Photograph: Jérôme Galland |
  4. Photograph: Jérôme Galland
    | Photograph: Jérôme Galland |

Review

Circolo Popolare

3 out of 5 stars
A large Fitzrovia trattoria from the same stable as Shoreditch’s Gloria.
  • Restaurants | Italian
  • price 2 of 4
  • Fitzrovia
  • Recommended
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Time Out says

Magical. If I had to use one word to describe Circolo Popolare – based on its looks alone – that’s the one I’d go for. Moments after walking in to this sibling to Shoreditch’s chintzy cheese-fest Gloria, you’ll be scraping your jaw off the floor. It might just be the most atmospheric dining room in London. Despite being huge, it has a grotto-esque feel, the space illuminated by candles, strings of garden lights and a dazzling kaleidoscope of backlit booze bottles crammed onto every shelf of the arched walls. Plants in the rafters cast down their dangling fronds. There’s an enormous tree in the centre of the back room (obvs).

As for the trattoria-style menu, our meal had an auspicious start, with a kick-ass bruschetta. Thick, oily grilled bread heaped with fragrant ripe tomatoes and silky, smoky burrata all mingled together in satisfying, umami-rich mouthfuls. Simple stuff, done brilliantly.

But as the portions grew, standards fell. An olive, caper and almond pizza had a woefully wet, soggy base, falling apart in our hands. And the ‘open lasagne’ our waitress insisted we order was like something your student housemate (who can’t really cook) might have rustled up. Pleasant enough – and with the welcome addition of aubergine chunks – but essentially too-soft pasta marred by tasteless, bloated blobs of mince (that is, neither broken up nor browned). The tiramisu was worse: all cream, with barely any biscuit or coffee. Such a pity. This is a breathtakingly inviting place (and you can book, at certain times), so do go, but stick to the small stuff.

Details

Address
40 Rathbone Place
London
W1T 1HX
Transport:
Tube: Tottenham Court Road
Price:
Dinner for two with drinks and service: around £85.
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What’s on

A Lover's Flea Mercatino

Spend your Valentine’s weekend hunting out quirky new goods for your home at Big Mamma’s latest charity flea mercatino. This time, they’ll be taking over the terrace at Sicilian trattoria Circolo Popolare with a big sale of handpainted Sicilian crockery, vintage Italian furniture, candles and more. If bringing a touch of the Meditteranean into your home isn’t enough to get you down, consider this: 100 per cent of the market’s proceeds will be donated to help preserve Casa Italiana, the oldest Italian social club in London. Entry is free, but you’ll need to pre-book a spot here.
  • Markets and fairs
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