Amalfi Lounge — Restaurant in London

I don't normally write reviews, but seeing as this was the worst dining 'experience' I have ever had (anywhere in the world) I thought I must. We prepaid £20 per person for an evening of comedy & dancing til late, with a 3 course meal included on New Years Eve. We thought this was maybe too good to be true for the price, but decided to give it a go as we thought it couldn't be too bad - we were very wrong. Initially, we were pleasantly surprised as we were greeted by a jovial waiter who we later learned was called Maurizio. After approx one hour after ordering and questioning where are starters were, we were brought 2 plates of what was supposed to be cabrese but was missing the bread (so was essentially just a few tomatoes with a couple mozzarella). When we inquired about this, we were bluntly informed that they had run out of bread and would have to make do. He also informed us that they had run out of some of the other items and would have to reorder our starters. He told us that the fact we had ordered an hour ago was 'not his problem' as the other waiter (Maurizio) had taken our order and was now next door (part of the same restaurant). Approx 20 later, we finally received our remaining starters. After another hour of waiting for our mains and other tables also waiting for a very long time, we decided that enough was enough and we would ask for a refund. At no point in the night had any attempt at an apology been made; not even the word sorry was muttered. By this time Maurizio had returned. When we informed him that we weren't impressed by the service and would like a refund, it was like an invisible switch flicked. Almost like something out of Jekyll and Hyde, the bubbly waiter we met originally was gone and replaced by a rude, very aggressive man. I have never seen anything like it. It was almost comical how absurd he was, although I'm not sure that this was the type of comedy that we were expecting. He started storming round the restaurant, collecting empty plates whilst shouting insults at us from across the room. He told us that we were very ungrateful and he asked "what did we expect for only £20pp?" (I personally expected a little more than just a starter and certainly didn't expect to be shouted at). At one point my girlfriend started recording his aggressive behavior as evidence, until he tried to snatch the phone out of her hand, causing me to move myself in between the two in the fear that she would be assaulted by this man. I was sure at that point he was about to assault me instead if it hadn't been for two of the chefs running out to try and calm him down. As we tried to leave (unsuccessful at an attempt to get any form of refund) he continued shouting at us and everyone else as the entire room got up and left. Unfortunately, we didn't get time to experience the actually comedy due to the food taking so long and being shouted out of the restaurant, but we were told this was equally shambolic. It is clear that the management at this restaurant have no idea how to actually run anything like this. For a man that describes himself as 'being in charge' to act in such an unprofessional and unpleasant way does not bode well for any place that receives paying customers. In short - avoid at all costs. It was certainly an unforgettable evening but not for the right reasons. If the management or anyone else would like video evidence of this man's behavior, we would be happy to share...

Ok, I'd like to clear up this poor review for Cafe Mode once and for all.... I am a covent garden resident, and a 2nd generation english-italian. I work very hard and always take the time to cook my ragout and marinara sauces by hand. this usually takes no less than 2 hours. It's draining. I see the promotions guy for cafe mode outside my house every day giving leaflets and I've always passed on it due to the abysmal google review rating. Last night, too tired to cook, myself, my partner and a friend decided to give Cafe Mode a pop, as we had a 50% off offer. I must say, I'm stunned. It is simply THE BEST pasta I've had outside of my mamma's cooking (it had the same elegant, complex, fresh tasting sauce) We did not eat in, we took away. It was made super fast we had the garlic bread, the bruschetta (which was flavour packed and correctly rubbed down with a garlic clove. So many people make bruschetta way too bland with crap tomatoes. This, however, was divine) We ordered the penne salmone and penne siciliana, both a triumph. the pasta was correctly cooked al dente and had some actual texture and bite to it. So often takeaway pasta is reheated crap that's gone soft due to overcooking and residual heat (I just woke up and polished it off for breakfast cold, I'm hardcore like that) It's every bit as good as it was last night. We ordered the pollo pizza as well and the goats cheese, I didn't get round to trying it outside my one woman pasta love affair but i hear it was beautiful. Bottom line, sometimes you roll the dice, take a gamble and you win. I'm so impressed I've decided to write this at 7.30 on a saturday morning! Also it should not go unsaid the gentleman on the phone had a lovely telephone manner and was polite, friendly and helpful. This is now my go to place for italian. It used to be Jamie's italian, but to be honest it's not a patch on my new local joint. Bravo/ brava...

(Visited Nov 2019)

Having booked a table, I arrived a little early with my two friends. We were immediately told to go back and stand outside…not the kind of welcome I expect! After waiting for a bit, we were then taken to the building next door and seated at a table that was clearly meant for two people. I was sticking out at the side, in people’s way.

An initial thought was that the cramped, basic ‘interior’ of the building made it look like someone renting a flat decided to convert it into a makeshift restaurant. We had our drinks order taken (3 x Diet Cokes) and received them in glasses of three different sizes. We also noted a price for soft drinks on the food menu (£2.30) and a more expensive value on another (about £2.70).

After waiting for far too long, during which we witnessed the one lone waiter see to other people and clean vacated tables, I had to go to the back of the restaurant and ask him to come and take our order: two margherita pizzas and a lasagne. When these meals eventually came, they were bland, not very filling and not at all enjoyable. We had to eat in a hurry as we were going straight to the theatre afterwards.

Of course, when we asked for the bill, we were charged the more expensive price for the drinks. We pointed this out to the waiter who contested it until we showed him the cheaper price on the food menu. I also requested for the £5.00 service charge to be removed since the service we received was poor. He asked for an explanation (and for me to be honest) and so I pointed out that customers should not have to approach a member of staff to ask to order food. He disagreed, saying that, as the only server in the restaurant, he’s busy. While I did sympathise, this wasn’t our fault.

Although it was cheap with my tastecard, I absolutely wouldn’t...