Bella Cosa Italian Restaurant Canary Wharf — Restaurant in London

Bella Carnage

I booked a reservation for me and my wife for her birthday and in the reservation I stated that I just needed a quiet table preferably with a nice view as it was her birthday and I wanted to treat her to something nice.

As we came into the restaurant, we could see that there the odd food influencer types who were sat at a table. We thought nothing of it and made our order. My wife asked what was halal in the menu and the waitress affirmed that everything was halal.

When we went to order, I selected the pepperoni pizza when she let me know that the pepperoni in fact wasn’t halal. so I ended up having a chicken pasta dish (as well as my wife).

Fast forward during the meal - at no point did we get a check or be asked if everything was okay, if the food was alright or if we were happy. Keep in mind that I mentioned in the reservation that it was a special occasion. We were catergorically ignored as a whole host of Caucasian customers and influencers were being treated like royalty. They were literally on tables surrounding us.

We didn’t get spoken to once.

When it came for the bill, we both gestured multiple times for the bill and were ignored. It came to a point where it was getting almost funny how they’d come towards us and then swerve to serve other customers.

My wife had enough and we began to walk out. That got the waiters attention at which point they were trying to assure us that the delay was because he wanted to get a birthday cake for our table and put a song on the speakers. We were incredibly frustrated and angry. They were doing their best at damage control and forcing us to take the free tiramisu. It began to get really embarrassing - they were telling my wife to blow the little candle on top of it.

You can tell they were beginning to backtrack and quickly figure something out. As I went to pay for the bill, I was graciously told I don’t have to pay the service charge

We’ve left unhappy and it’s spoiled my wife’s birthday and our evening. Don’t come here. Don’t listen to any influencer reviews if they tell you the service is...

Fine Italian dining has arrived in Canary Wharf - East London

I found this gem of a restaurant on Open Table when an old friend and I agreed to meet up for lunch. I found the 50% mains offer as long as one bought a starter and a dessert, which encouraged me to then have 3 courses rather than just two. There is not great signage at the moment to find the restaurant, but once you are get to the main entrance, you already know you are in for a treat.

The restaurant has been well decorated with a clean, fresh and modern feel. The use of red, white, black and oak wood gave a cosy, yet sexy look which was inviting for all genders. The music was a little louder than I'm used to, but far from distracting. The use of centre pieces for the tables added to the wonderful character of the venue.

We were greeted with a glass of Prosecco and escorted to our table after our coats were put away. I was happy to just have some still water as well on the table, and was grateful to have a selection of warm bread. It automatically came with olive oil, and we had to ask for balsamic oil as well, which is not a problem.

The menu had a reasonable selection of options. I chose the the octopus leg for a starter which was soft and tender. Followed by the black cod with baby cuttlefish, which was a little small but very rich in flavour. My meal ended with the ricotta tart with marinated apples and vanilla ice cream. This was my least favourite course since I prefer puddings, but I thought I would try something different. I have a personal preference for puff pastry over shortcrust, yet the flavours were very pleasant.

The split bill was £40/head, which is a bit pricey for lunch for me, though it was worth. The food was very well made and presented, which goes a long way in making you know you got good value for money.

All in all, a great experience, will certainly come again and...

I'm surprised by our poor experience given the relatively high rating the restaurant has. The ambience is generally nice and the wait staff are attentive, but the food quality leaves much to be desired. We ordered the following dishes;

Grilled octopus: Cut up octopus pieces served in what I believe to be some kind of cheese. It was nice to eat but I could tell it was not fresh as the inside was a bit too soft. Garlic prawns: Three prawns served in a sauce of cherry tomatoes on top of bread. This was the worst dish we ordered, as the prawns were mushy and clearly completely off! They should have been disposed off instead of being served to customers! I had an upset stomach later that night and I suspect it was as a result of these prawns. We complained about this dish to the wait staff and was quickly offered to have it replaced with another of our choice. Fried squid: We ordered this dish as our replacement to the prawns. As the name suggests, this dish is basically fried calamari rings. It tasted good and I enjoyed eating, however i could tell this was heated up in the microwave and not freshly prepared as the squid came out too soft. Beef lasagne: This was a saving grace to our poor experience, rich in flavour and filling. I enjoyed eating this dish since its not easy to Italian restaurants that serve halal meat.

I would have given a much higher rating for the service and beef lasagne but I can't accept that the restaurant uses ingredients that has clearly gone off to customers, especially seafood which could pose a high risk of food poisoning.

The restaurant claims to use halal meat but this has not been indicated on the menu. I believe that this has been checked and verified by...