I've been to Bocca a few times now and it has never let me down. The prices are reasonable, the food is excellent. It's the kind of neighbourhood Italian everyone should have.
I returned there last night and had a more unusual meal than most. It started with fritto misto. This translates as "mixed fried things" and is a popular Italian dish which can take many guises - often fish and seafood based. On this occasion it was deep-fried courgette flower, stuffed olives, rice balls, and custard cream. The custard cream bit sounded so bizarre that I didn't really think about - but there on the plate was some deep-fried cubes of what looked like cheese and tasted like custard cream. Later research revealed that this is indeed what they do in parts of Italy (such as Bologna), sometimes as part of a fritto misto or as an accompaniment to meat. It is a very thick custard, cooled until it sets and then deep-fried. It was by no means unpleasant, if a little strange as a starter. The rest of it was fairly straightforward, but tasty. There was a theme of soft, oozing even, fillings contrasting with a crispy exterior. The rice balls (arancini) had a melting cube of mozzarella buried within. The olives were stuffed with sausagemeat or mozzarella.
We also shared bruschetta topped with tomato, which were much more conventional, if perfectly tasty.
My adventurousness eased for a bit as I opted for my usual main, a Mediterranean vegetable pizza. The pizzas at Bocca are huge, with impressively thin bases and generous toppings. My companion had one of their home-made pastas, an unusual dish of ravioli with beetroot filling, served with butter and poppy-seed sauce. It was pleasant, but I couldn't help thinking that beetroot is perhaps not strongly-flavoured enough to carry a ravioli filling.
We didn't strictly need a pudding by this point, but Bocca do delicious home-made ice-creams, with a changing selection. On this occasion there was a black truffle and honey ice-cream which begged to be tried. That's truffle as in fungus, not as in chocolate. At first I didn't get much flavour at all, but then a subtle muskiness came through. A bit like the beetroot ravioli, I had no regrets at having tried it, but it won't become my new favourite. I tried the strawberry yoghurt ice-cream too, which was pleasant enough, but to my mind nowhere near as good as their strawberry ice-cream, which is like eating the essence of the fruit itself.
My dining companion had a chocolate and almond cake, served slightly warm. It was nothing like what I had expected: layers of feather-light sponge interleaved with chocolate mousse. She didn't manage to finish it, but swore that was no reflection on its quality.
This was my fifth or sixth visit to Bocca in the space of four months, and none of them have let me down. It doesn't normally feel as adventurous as last night's visit. A dessert of Sicilian cannoli, deep-fried pastry tubes filled with sweetened ricotta and candied fruit, was probably the most unusual thing I have eaten previously. But I will definitely be returning to find out what's on the menu next time.
Bocca
14 High Parade,
Streatham High Road,
SW16 1EX
0208 677 3646
www.boccarestaurant.co.uk
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