On Monday 30 September, Polpo, the ground-breaking, award-winning Venetian restaurant, will be celebrating 10 years in Soho with a party and a cichèti feast at its original Beak Street location.
Founders Russell Norman and Richard Beatty have invited top chefs Angela Hartnett, Francesco Mazzei, Florence Knight, Stevie Parle and Rachel Roddy to join them for one night only, each contributing a dish to the feast. Their dishes will also feature on the specials board at Polpo Beak Street for the five weeks leading up to the party.
The celebrations will kick off at 5.30pm, with partygoers invited to enjoy Spritzes, Negronis, Bellinis and cichèti all night long at the bar, before following the neon red arrow downstairs for a live DJ set in the Campari Room.
Meanwhile, for those looking to feast, guests can buy tickets for a celebratory long table dinner, taking their seats at 7.30pm for an elbow-to-elbow Venetian meal from the Polpo team and the five chefs. After the last crumb has been eaten, the guests will also be able to descend to the Campari Room to keep the birthday celebrations going into the small hours.
First up will be Guardian columnist Rachel Roddy’s cichèto of Swordfish Arancini, inspired by her recent travels around Sicily. Following Roddy, Stevie Parle of Dock Kitchen, Pastaio and Palatino fame, will be serving Spiced Breaded Kid-Goat Chop. This will be followed by Grana Padano Cheese Puffs, Black Truffle and Saffron Mayonnaise, courtesy of Francesco Mazzei, Chef Patron of Sartoria, Radici and Fiume.
Larger dishes are being prepared by Angela Hartnett MBE, who will be cooking a Red Mullet and Red Pepper Stew, and chef and cookery writer Florence Knight, with Tortellini in Brodo. A visit to Polpo would not be complete without a spritz, so bartenders will be on hand with spritzes of Aperol, Select, Cynar and Campari, alongside Negronis and Bellinis.
Norman said, “When we opened the doors ten years ago, it gave me so much joy to see the bar heaving with guests, spritz in hand, their plates piled high with cichèti, and this Venetian spirit still lives through Polpo to this day.
'Regional Italian cuisine is so loved by London diners and it’s going to be a real treat bringing these Italian cooking superstars together for this special evening. Everyone is welcome, there will be a few surprises, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Cichèti Feast will be held on Monday 30 September and guests can arrive from 5.30pm, with ticket holders taking their seats at 7.30pm. Each chef’s dish will feature on the Polpo Beak Street menu for one week each prior.
Angela Hartnett: w/c 26 August
Francesco Mazzei: w/c 2 September
Florence Knight: w/c 9 September
Stevie Parle: w/c 16 September
Rachel Roddy: w/c 23 September
