I love all things Italian, and one custom I’m particularly enchanted by is the Feast of the Seven Fishes, the grand meal served on Christmas Eve featuring a variety of fish and seafood dishes.
So, when it came time for a recent celebration, I love that we chose seafood — in the form of Trattoria Polipo, Kevin Goldsmith’s newest restaurant. First, a little Italian lesson: Polipo means octopus, and octopus is also featured on the menu, in the restaurant’s logo and in a gorgeous mural over the bar area. (Want more of a language lesson? The menu includes a glossary of Italian food words.)
Inside, it reminds me of restaurants I’ve visited in Italy — it’s grand and bustling, with both indoor and outdoor dining, and a neutral interior dressed up with great art and crisp white table coverings. But it’s fun too: Our table was covered in brown paper, with a couple of crayons provided so my daughter could draw to her heart’s content.
The menu features a generous list of 11 appetizers (primi) that run the gamut from soup (zuppa del giorno, or soup of the day) to calamari to marinated olives to burrata, a soft white cow’s milk cheese with accompaniments.
There are also entrée size salads, three seafood entrees, 12 pastas, from the simple and traditional cacio de pepe (noodles seasoned with pecorino and cracked black pepper) to a slow braised veal over noodles, and six meat entrees, from a chicken marsala to a steak au poivre.
I seriously considered the risotto and the braised pork over noodles, but I’ve enjoyed so many family celebrations at Italian restaurants ordering frutti di mare (literally fruits of the sea, or a variety of seafood). So I went with tradition, ordering the bucatini frutti di mare with (what else?) the octopus “escargot” to start.
While we were waiting, our server brought out a plate of terrific rustic bread with an open crumb and a chewy, salty exterior, with an olive oil dipping sauce flecked with herbs and red pepper chili flakes. And my daughter dove into her kid’s plate of spaghetti noodles bathed in butter and pecorino cheese.
The “escargot” arrived next: chunks of tender octopus swimming in more butter, garlic, herbs, bread crumbs, with an interesting flavor from a touch of sambuca, an Italian anise liqueur. It was rich and salty, a great accompaniment to the bread.
I’d forgotten that salads also came with our entrees, and these little salads were beautifully crafted: a bed of greens (just on the edge of bitterness), lightly dressed, with a scattering of pickled onion, chickpeas, sliced tomato and a chunk of soft mild mozzarella. It was flavorful and hearty.
My husband ordered the veal for his entrée, and it was terrific — beefy and in a flavorful sauce with perfectly al dente noodles. But I fell hard for my seafood dish, which was like a fish stew with a briny, concentrated sauce that coated every strand of the luscious noodles. There were mussels, big chunks of white fish (or maybe it was octopus?), shrimp, capers and tomatoes. Best of all was the deep-fried soft-shelled crab on top, which was sweet and tender, with just a bit of crunch from the shell and the savory coating.
It was my friend Paul who first pointed me to Trattoria Polipo: When I mentioned I hadn’t tried it yet, he said, “Run! Do not pass go!” His taste, as always, is impeccable. Trattoria Polipo is a feast for the senses, worthy of any celebration.
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Trattoria Polipo
3629 Walton Way Extension
Entrée cost: About $19 to $29.50
