Restaurant open Mon–Sat midday–10.30pm, Sun midday–10pm; bar open Sun–Wed midday–11pm, Thu midday–midnight, Fri–Sat midday–1am
The blurb
‘Situated in the heart of Old Compton Street, RustiKo embodies the vintage Soho experience. Independent, quirky, candle-lit interior and a funky blues playlist.’
The style
Hip, independently owned ex-pop-up. The main focus of the ground floor dining room is, paradoxically, the well-stocked bar, behind which two checked-shirted mixologists are kept on their groovy toes. Staff are friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable—you feel that this place is a labour of love and will it to do well.
The buzzy atmosphere, feel-good music and attractively laid back interior—all wooden tables and flickering candlelight—make for an extremely enjoyable night out. It’s open from midday though, and would be an equally appealing option for a spot of lunch or afternoon drink. I imagine the two outdoor tables will be in hot demand if the sun ever deigns to shine again.
The crowd
Cool, artfully dishevelled Soho types; several pairs of women who couldn’t have had anything other than creative professions; a few gay couples; cognoscenti—it’s so small that you have to book in the evenings and there’s a palpable sense of satisfaction that you’ve ended up here, rather than one of the heaving, soulless bars or pubs you’ve passed en route.
The food
Casual modern Italian. The menu is divided into Pots and Mugs (polenta chips, breaded whitebait, garlic chilli shrimps, most priced very reasonably at £4), Piattini (meatballs, bruschetta, calamari), Pizza, Pasta, Meat, Fish and Dessert, so there’s something for everybody, whether you want to go the whole hog with three courses or just have a few nibbles to soak up the booze.
Quality isn’t sacrificed though—everything we tried was great. From the Pots and Mugs, chicken croquettes with mozzarella, parmesan and parsley were delectable savoury mouthfuls, crisp crusts yielding to unctuously gooey filling; Bolognese arancini ditto, with a generous meat to rice ratio.
To follow, I went for the seasonal spaghetti with chilli, prawn and asparagus, whose individual flavours sang through the delicate emulsion that acted as a sauce. My relentlessly carnivorous husband had a tender grilled rib-eye steak, with mixed mushrooms, truffle oil, rocket and salsa verde (at £18, the most expensive dish on the menu) which proved that RustiKo is more than just an upmarket pizza and pasta joint.
For pudding I opted for the dense, almost fudge-like chocolate and pistachio ice creams—not homemade, but well-sourced—while Andy had a perfectly crafted pannacotta: light, creamy, with just the right amount of wobble.
The drink
The wine list is limited, with three whites and three reds, available by the glass or bottle, and one rose, rather idiosyncratically plonked under the heading ‘Beer, cider and rose’ (one of each). The bottle of sauvignon blanc we shared, and large glass of Sicilian Nero d’Avolo that Andy hogged with his meat, were perfectly adequate pairings with our food, but wine isn’t really the point here.
The drinks list is headed by four proseccos—one of which we tried while waiting for our starters, and very nice it was too. Then there are six prosecco cocktails, four ‘Classic and Twisted’ cocktails, three vodkas, four tequilas, four gins, three whiskies, three rums, two bourbon & ryes (one of each).
After dinner we were invited downstairs to the Shed, the recently opened cocktail bar (separate review to follow), and plied with more drinks by Josh, the charming, charismatic bar manager. It’s all very jolly down there, and we sampled a couple of cocktails from the menu: a light, refreshing Twinkle (elderflower liqueur, stoli vodka, prosecco) for me, something stronger involving whisky and rum for the manly carnivore. By dint of twisting our arms, Josh persuaded us to try one of his own creations, a rhubarb daiquiri, which was vivid of colour, fresh of flavour and high of potency.
In a nutshell
RustiKo is a fab addition to the Soho scene—from the food to the drinks to the service to the atmosphere, it has everything you need for a good night out, all under one roof. Highly recommended.
