Where We Eat: Brutto

It’s impossible not to have a good time at Brutto.

The food is great…not complex or challenging or trying to impress…just exactly what it aims to be which is proper trattoria food, executed very well and complemented by a serious Italian wine list

Brutto was the passion project of the late Russell Norman, whose aura and values still permeate the whole restaurant.  Russell was also the man behind Polpo which, when it first opened in Soho in 2009, was a breath of fresh air and was instrumental in the introduction of small plates to the London dining scene in the form of Venetian cicheti…long before the whole small plates thing lost it’s way…but that’s another story!

What Polpo got so right back then, and what Brutto absolutely nails today, is that unmistakable energy - the buzz of a packed dining room, the warmth of a place that knows exactly what it is.  That kind of atmosphere doesn’t happen by accident; it comes from a clear vision, executed with intent

And that’s what sets Brutto apart. Too many places try to be everything to everyone

Brutto knows exactly what it’s about—and it delivers exactly that!