A polenta-based restaurant is set to open in Soho later
this month, serving a menu of dishes inspired by the grain. La Polenteria is the brainchild of Italian entrepreneur Cristina Sparcaci and will take over 64 Old Compton Street, which was previously
occupied by a shop selling sex toys.
The restaurant will be open all day, serving dishes such as polenta muffins or creamy polenta with blueberries and maple syrup for breakfast, and soft polenta with toppings such as wild boar,
caponata or Tuscan sausages for lunch and dinner. Takeaway options will also be available.
Polenta is naturally gluten free, and this is a market which Sparcaci hopes to capitalise on; the drinks list will feature a gluten-free ale alongside other beers, wines and spirits.
There is an unrelated restaurant of the same name in Brunate, north Italy, which also bases its menu around polenta, but the most similar concept to this is probably Andre’s Cucina & Polenta Bar in Adelaide. La Polenteria is the latest in a line of one-item or limited-item restaurants in London, including Burger & Lobster, Mark Hix’s Tramshed, and numerous burger, pizza and chicken-themed venues.