Bocconcino Mayfair restaurant review: you can’t have too much of a good thing
You know you are onto a winner when, after ordering, your waiter advises you that you are going to have to move to a bigger table to accommodate all your food.
This was what happened when The Week Portfolio recently visited Bocconcino in Mayfair to try out the restaurant’s four-course set menu.
Well, it describes itself as four courses – but the first course alone, the one that led to the table switch, would have easily filled us both, such was its generosity.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Between two of us, my dining partner and I somehow made it through a plate of calamari, a tuna tartare, a beautifully presented beef carpaccio - gently yellow around each edge and streaked with mustard sauce, a burrata served simply with sweet tomatoes and a dollop or two of pesto, an aubergine parmigiana, bread and olives. I would note again, there were only two of us... and this was just the first course.
Next up came pizza. We opted for the vegetarian option to try to delude ourselves that we had made a lighter choice. The whisp thin crust helped us see it off, though the deliciously melting cheese began to slow our progress.
For main course, I somehow found room for a whole Scottish rib eye, while my partner – having protested that she really couldn’t – found that once her ravioli was presented to her, she really could.
Roiling and delirious, we completed the four courses with a tiramisu. Shared, mind you, we are not monsters.
For quality, variety and – let’s face it – quantity, Bocconcino's four-course menu simply can’t be beaten. The restaurant also offers a seven-course affair; consider yourself warned.
Bocconcino Mayfair, 19 Berkeley St, W1J 8ED; bocconcinorestaurant.co.uk
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.
-
7 beautiful towns to visit in Switzerland during the holidays
The Week Recommends Find bliss in these charming Swiss locales that blend the traditional with the modern
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Werewolf bill
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
'This needs to be a bigger deal'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How London fell back in love with the brasserie
The Blend From Brasserie Zédel to Café François, we sample the best bistros in town
By Charlie Teasdale Published
-
The Count of Monte Cristo review: 'indecently spectacular' adaptation
The Week Recommends Dumas's classic 19th-century novel is once again given new life in this 'fast-moving' film
By The Week UK Published
-
Death of England: Closing Time review – 'bold, brash reflection on racism'
The Week Recommends The final part of this trilogy deftly explores rising political tensions across the country
By The Week UK Published
-
Sing Sing review: prison drama bursts with 'charm, energy and optimism'
The Week Recommends Colman Domingo plays a real-life prisoner in a performance likely to be an Oscars shoo-in
By The Week UK Published
-
Kaos review: comic retelling of Greek mythology starring Jeff Goldblum
The Week Recommends The new series captures audiences as it 'never takes itself too seriously'
By The Week UK Published
-
Blink Twice review: a 'stylish and savage' black comedy thriller
The Week Recommends Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie stun in this film on the hedonistic rich directed by Zoë Kravitz
By The Week UK Published
-
Shifters review: 'beautiful' new romantic comedy offers 'bittersweet tenderness'
The Week Recommends The 'inventive, emotionally astute writing' leaves audiences gripped throughout
By The Week UK Published
-
How to do F1: British Grand Prix 2025
The Week Recommends One of the biggest events of the motorsports calendar is back and better than ever
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published