Exterior
There is nothing quite like the exquisite pleasure of tearing round the shops on a Monday lunchtime, desperately searching for an appropriate birthday present for a treasured friend. I found myself engaging in this pastime, earlier today, much to my unfettered joy and delight. To celebrate the successful completion of the task, I took myself up the few steps to Papii, on Hanover Street, which is just above P.O.S.H, where I’d lunched the other day.
The place is small, bright and quirkily decked out. The counter staff are welcoming, polite and efficient. The blackboard is neatly organised, not too overcrowded, so you can easily take in your options. They, quite sensibly, focus on a fairly small number of good quality ingredients for you to chose from. They have a couple of lunchtime deals, to suit your requirements, with either a sandwich, crisps and juice deal, or a soup and half baguette deal.
Deli counter
I opted for the latter, choosing leek and potato over tomato and chilli, and teaming it with a chicken and chorizo salad baguette. This was quickly and accurate prepared, meaning that I was soon on my way.
Leek and potato soup
On return to the ivory basement, I checked the soup for temperature and found it just about ready to go. This was nice chunky potato and leek, with a good creamy flavour. I drank down about half of it, then turned my attention to the baguette.
What it lacked it size, it made up for in filling, as it was generously over-stuffed. The ingredients worked nicely together, with the chicken nice and moist and the thinly sliced chorizo provided its usual power-packed boost of flavour. The bread was nice and fresh with a good chew to it, also.
I scooped the last of the soup, taking great enjoyment in the last few chunky mouthfuls.
Overall, I was really pleased with Papii. It was a significant upgrade on its near neighbour, P.O.S.H, both in terms of the look of the place and in terms of the quality of the product on offer. Next time I’m looking for a snacky sit-in lunch in this part of town, I look forward to stopping and sampling Papii’s coffee, relaxing in the calm surroundings, and trying some more dishes from their menu.
Half baguette
Scores
Blythe scores Papii:
3.5/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for service
3.5/5 for setting
giving an overall 14/20
Today’s quester was: Blythe
I ate: chicken & chorizo half baguette, leek and potato soup
I drank: nothing
I wore: Grecian tie
Total bill: £3.95