Perhaps luck is what the owners of bocca lupo, Brooklyn's newest Italian tapas joint, thought they needed when they decided to open in Cobble Hill last month. After all, they named their new restaurant aftter the Italian phrase ‘in bocca al lupo,' meaning something close to ‘good luck,' or even ‘break a leg,' when it's used to inspire courage before a challenging undertaking. And it is apparent that making bocca lupo work is going to be no small feat, as the small-plate trend has, we think, plateaued on both sides of the river. Then there's the undeniable fact that the restaurant's menu is pricier than many others in the neighborhood. Suddenly that metaphorical wolf is looking a little more threatening than before.
But from what we have seen of the restaurant so far, the superstitious naming seems to be working… well, like a charm. bocca lupo is a delight, not to mention a tonic to Brooklyn's oversupply of ‘me-too' New American restaurants. And with its enoteca-like long list of Italian wines, bocca lupo feels like the kind of neighborhood standby where you can bring friends or stodgy relatives with equal confidence. In my case, I brought Jay, years ago my boss, but now a good friend and happy Brooklynite. We walked right in without a wait on a slow Thursday night and ordered widely from Bocca's menu. Tapas-style menus are often tricky because you never know how many plates to order, and because the issue is further complicated by the often unspoken question of whether to share or not to share. Yet bocca lupo only makes this Hamletesque dilemma worse, presenting customers with an overwhelming array of choice: a regular menu, a specials menu, and a drinks menu, each of which is divided into further sub-sections. For example, the main menu has exhaustive listings for panini, bruschetta, and tramezzini– triangles of crustless sandwiches designed to be consumed in three bites– as well as other small plates, and daily pasta and risotto specials.
Jay and I avoided much head-scratching over the menu by ordering two test plates, then resolving to continue the two-at-a-time pace, sharing both plates between us. This method is a little more service-intensive than ordering all at once, but the waitstaff are friendly and accomodating. We started with a roasted artichoke appetizer, which was quite small but wonderfully meaty and tender. Like most of bocca lupo's small plates, the artichokes are really only about three or four bites worth of food if you're sharing — though they're worth it, especially the version with creamy herb and roasted hazelnut sauce.
Up next was a tramezzini of mortadella, pecorino cheese and sweet mayonnaise all on barely toasted wedges of white Italian bread. This sat appealingly on the plate next to a perfect slice of tomato and sprig of thyme; unfortunately, the sandwich was so small it felt like it was never there to begin with.
The rest of the meal followed the same pattern: lushly presented and solidly fine food in astoundingly small portions. The much-touted meatballs were moist and toothsome, with just the right amount of sauce, but were a little difficult to share between two people without mashing them to bits. 
Our plate of spinach ravioli (a pasta special that evening) was unexpectedly– but very pleasantly– dense and bowed more to gnocchi than to ravioli. Finally, a pair of carefully chosen bruschette were served on untoasted slices of crusty Italian bread; the toppings of pureed eggplant and garlicky spinach-artichoke, respectively, were piled so high that they practically toppled onto the plate. Small but perfectly formed.
Desserts at bocca lupo range from the traditional to the decidedly modern. A plate of sliced peaches in a simple syrup and with mascarpone cheese was the image of simplicity itself, accented subtly by chiffonaded mint and chopped almonds. We should have stopped there, but Jay, a hopeless chocoholic, ordered a Stonehenge-like construction of Nutella and banana toasts. The dessert quickly deconstructed itself into a gooey mess and was ironically the largest portion of food on one plate that we had all night. 
While the nutella and banana combination worked well as always, this dish was the evening's one off-note: it seemed more than anything to be a cheap trick served up to please the crowds, but lacked the inspiration of bocca lupo's other offerings.
Still, these few missteps are easy to overlook, given the relative bargain bocca lupo offers– if you order carefully. Plates are all between $7 and $14, and the extensive and all-Italian wine list has some stunningly affordable bottles: most notably a wonderul $17 Candido Salice Salentino that Nosher and I have horded for years. Very decent, inexpensive wine is reason alone to come back, as few other eateries can resist heavy markups on wine, even in Brooklyn. But more than this, the vibe and the food here make bocca lupo a compelling neighborhood attraction that manages to succeed with or without the luck of the lupine.
bocca lupo, 391 Henry Street, at corner with Warren Street, Brooklyn , Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. 718-243-2522
