Bocconcino Mayfair: Italian Heart, Mayfair Flair
There are restaurants that arrive with a fanfare, and there are restaurants that quietly become part of a city’s fabric. Twelve years after opening on Berkeley Street, Bocconcino Mayfair belongs firmly to the latter. A long-standing favourite in one of London’s most exacting neighbourhoods, it has mastered the art of combining generous Italian hospitality with the polish and glamour of Mayfair.
Our evening began downstairs, where Bocconcino reveals its more exuberant personality. The elegant restraint of the upper floor gives way to a lively, open-plan space centred around a wood-fired oven, bustling bar and impressive seafood counter. Large tables fill the room, while a live singer and DJ provided the soundtrack to dinner, creating an atmosphere that felt distinctly celebratory without tipping into nightclub territory.
At the heart of Bocconcino is regional Italian cooking, overseen by Head Chef Marco Corsica, a Naples native. The menu travels generously across Italy, drawing on the seafood traditions of Sicily, the comfort of Rome, the produce of Tuscany and the vibrant flavours of Campania.
Fresh pasta is made in-house each morning, while Roman-style pizzas emerge blistered and fragrant from the wood-fired oven. The menu is designed as much for lingering and sharing as it is for a formal three-course affair, with crudi, burrata and antipasti leading into handmade pasta, seafood and beautifully grilled meats.
There is also a pleasing sense of theatre. The Beef Fillet Tartare, for instance, is assembled tableside, with hand-cut beef folded through egg yolk, Dijon mustard, truffle oil, chives and shallots before being finished with generous shavings of fresh black truffle. The Branzino al Sale makes an equally dramatic entrance, presented encased in a salt crust before being cracked open and expertly filleted tableside.
And then there is the pasta, surely one of the reasons to return. Handmade lobster linguine, wild boar ragù tagliatelle and crab or king prawn ravioli bring that particular Italian pleasure of beautifully made pasta paired with unapologetically generous sauces and ingredients.
The wine list is equally serious, with more than 300 bottles spanning Italy’s great regions, from Piedmont and Tuscany to Sicily, Sardinia and Campania. Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, Amarone and Super Tuscans sit alongside organic and biodynamic producers, while an extensive by-the-glass and Coravin selection makes exploration considerably easier.
Dessert, naturally, is not to be hurried. Italian classics including tiramisù, pistachio fondant, lemon tart with Italian meringue and vanilla soufflé provide a suitably indulgent finale.
On our visit, the live music and DJ gave the room a deliciously glamorous energy. Glasses clinked, conversation rose above the soundtrack and the evening acquired that rare quality of feeling like an occasion, rather than simply dinner.
Perhaps that is the secret to twelve years in Mayfair. Bocconcino understands that great Italian dining is about more than what arrives on the plate. It is about generosity, atmosphere, hospitality and the irresistible temptation to order just one more dish, and perhaps another bottle.
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