Enoteca On Elgin

I completely love this place! My friend and fellow Unilocaler, Liz, is a regular and was shocked that she hadn’t introduced this place to me sooner.
We popped in here for a couple of savoury snacks and a prosecco after a long afternoon of shopping Four glasses each later and some delicious desserts later…
We ordered the chicken pesto risotto balls and some squid. I have to say that the risotto balls were to die for! I can’t praise them enough! The squid was also very good but they just did not compare! After a couple more glasses of prosecco we ordered the crème brûlée and a sticky date pudding. I rate myself as a bit of a sticky date pudding connoisseur and I have to say it was pretty darn good! Just the right amount of flavours!
The service was very good and they recognise my friend on site and there was good banter.
Just a little tip if you need to use the toilet — the doors are quite heavy so you need to push quite hard. I waited for about 5 minutes before I realised that the door wasn’t locked and it was empty!

Enoteca is a favourite for our GNOs. The food is easy sharing style and they have prosecco on tap!
Go to dishes: sesame tuna, beef chunks, squid and a special shout out the chicken pesto risotto balls. Seriously, the balls.
There’s now an added benefit of being next door to circada. If you ask nicely, you can also order off the circada menu (they have better salads!).
I love popping in, and the staff are just splendid. Welcoming and always try to get me a table even if I haven’t booked.

Enoteca has been serving consistently good food for years and is seemingly always busy. The concept is Italian tapas with everything from calamari to pizza on the menu.
I am a sucker for the chicken pesto risotto balls which are deep fried balls of gooey goodness. In fact, I always get two orders if in a group. The vegetarian version are mushroom flavoured and also pretty good. I’ve tried pretty much everything on the menu and like it all — it really depends on what you’re in the mood for. There’s something for everyone and the pizza options in particular are great for kids.
Without fail, I kick off a meal at Enoteca with a glass of prosecco. The stemware is seriously tall and leggy and my girlfriends and I love having a catch up over a glass pre-​dinner — not many restaurants serve fizz by the glass! The wine list is lengthy with plenty of reasonably priced option and the tables come with a built in iced bucket so that you don’t have to track down a waiter to top up your wine.
Avoid sitting at the back if you can — it’s semi open air and the humidity is inescapable. A table up front is best and provides ample opportunity for people watching on busy Elgin Street.
Unfortunately the bathrooms are always an issue with only one toilet for each sex and no where for patrons to queue… and you always have to queue.
The staff are really friendly and if they recognise you, will make a big deal out of your return. That teams with the sharing nature of the food makes for a fun, social meal in the heart of SoHo.

Have you ever been in a situation where you are forced to choose only 2 main courses out of half a dozen dishes you like on the menu? That’s the time where I’d recommend Enoteca On Elgin to my friends. Serving small dishes just like tapas-​equivalent of Italian cuisine, I never had to make a choice here — I simply ordered ‘em all! Dishes were all fairly priced (in Soho’s standard), so sharing 4 dishes (and one dessert) between two of us was my go-​to strategy.
Both the garlic shrimps and beef chunks had an amazing touch of chilly favour, which
reminded me of Southeast Asian cuisine. Lamb chops were smoky enough yet still juicy. Chicken risotto balls were the evil choice of the night; I couldn’t stop eating them once I had the first bite (they recently added a veggie-​friendly variation, mushroom risotto balls, to the menu too). We ordered a molten chocolate cake for dessert, which was probably too rich for our stuffed stomachs, but we still managed to finish it.
And the lovely staff definitely worths a special mention here. They are always helpful and happy to make friends with customers on every table. You almost feel like home, only with better food here!
On a side note, the restaurant was packed with people on the Saturday night. Like most of the restaurants in Soho, you need to make early reservation for dinner over weekends, or you may want to try your luck on a usual weekday.