Cecconi's Shoreditch — Restaurant in London

Unfortunately, it seems as though this restaurant’s strive to make its food LOOK as aesthetically pleasing as possible resulted in its flavours being subpar, akin to those of a university student trying to make their first meal away from home. My first dish made away from home certainly did better than this.

Our waiter did bear with us whilst our party arrived at staggered times, which did take quite a while but his attentiveness did not falter. He made sure to top up our water throughout and ask if we had a preference to order drinks whilst we waited.

There was a minimal wait before the starters arrived. The starters were pleasant, my party of 8 people opted to share the following: zucchini fritti with lemon aioli (which came with the calamari too), calamari, truffle arancini and focaccia with extra virgin olive oil. These starters were an enjoyable part of the anticipation of our main dishes.

I ordered the black truffle tagliolini as I am a fan of anything and everything with truffle. To a hungry mind, anything can be described as revolutionaraliy delicious but the starters had already prepared me to make a nuanced decision about the quality of this dish. Perhaps al dente was taken too literally as the tagliolini was rather tough, still clumped together making for a bunch of stodgy mouthfuls of pasta. The word “drizzle” or “moderate serving” of truffle oil and butter could also be better explained to chefs in practice as not only my plate and pasta was drenched, but every mouthful would leave my mouth coated with abundant layers of oil. Truffle oil is delicious, but not when it is used in this manner.

I did manage to finish the dish surprisingly, with a side of fries topped with truffle and a very minimal helping of parmesan - this was a far more enjoyable truffle dish.

Oddly enough, Cecconi’s desserts proved better than their mains. The tiramisu posed delicious sponge fingers which a mellow mascarpone filling topped with cocoa, a thorough delight. Their cheesecake with a berry compote definitely impressed, the biscuit base retained a pleasant tough texture that was not too soft and crumbly nor too hard. The cream cheese and berry compote had a lovely, balanced sweet taste. The desserts saved the meal from being rated even lower.

Perhaps it was high expectations as a Soho House restaurant and misleading pictures on the internet, but I do not think another visit is in my future plans. Name, titles, feigned aesthetics will only get you so far even with good...

Cecconi’s is a popular upmarket group of restaurants serving Northern Italian dishes in a classic setting. The restaurant originally came to Mayfair in the 70’s and has since expanded to Shoreditch and The Ned as well as Hollywood, Miami, Amsterdam, Brooklyn, Berlin, Barcelona and Istanbul. We visited the newest addition in Shoreditch tucked away on Redchurch Street in a gorgeous townhouse.

We headed down on a Sunday to try the new Feast Menu available from 12-5 at £25pp. They say to expect pasta, risotto, pizza, meatballs, roast meats and “much more”. Let me tell you something – they are not lying! There may be a stigma about buffets but make sure you get rid of it for Cecconi’s.

You head downstairs for the ‘feast’ which is displayed in the open kitchen. It felt slightly odd to be slap bang in the middle of the kitchen but great to see the chef’s at work. The choice of food was absolutely amazing! The antipasti / starter selection included salmon, prawns, tuna and a selection of charcuterie and salads. We were particularly impressed with the quality of the meats and cheeses.

I don’t even know where to begin with the main dishes! There were seriously so much choice including a number of pasta dishes, risotto, fish and roast meats. Yes, you can have an entire roast dinner here including rib eye, pork and chicken – just ask the chefs to carve the meat for you. The meatballs were a real winner for us here as well as the rib eye.

On to the desserts, there were around 10 to choose from! Think traditional tiramisu, fresh pastries, carrot cake, profiteroles and more. Similarly to the other food, the desserts were impressive and rounded off our afternoon perfectly.

Accompanying our lunch we just had to have a little tipple. The SANGUINELLO SOUR with Aperol, Italicus, citrus, orange, egg white (£9) was a delight and really fresh and light. The AMBRATO SPRITZ with Martini Ambrato, St Germain, prosecco (£9) was refreshing but tasted a little too salty for our liking. As expected from an Italian restaurant, there are a number of fantastic wines to choose from.

Cecconi’s is an amazing Italian restaurant in Shoreditch offering an amazing valued Feast Menu. We were so impressed with the quality and variety offered at only £25pp. Definitely make sure you have a good appetite...

I understand a Friday night is a busy night, so food and service can be slower, but in this case it was just bad service. We had to wait 10 min for our booked table (which okay is not terrible), but it was particularly annoying because it then took so long before we could get anyone to come to us, even for tap water. Our waiter appeared finally, clearly pressed for time, we managed to quickly order. Our cocktails ended up arriving after our starters, and still no sign of table water until we flagged down the waiter once more for it. I know I'm sounding snobbish, but at 60 pounds a head I expect SUPERB service. We weren't checked back on even once the whole meal, and had someone join us at the table towards the end, and they weren't offered a drink or anything at all. The service can be summed up in "they took our order, delivered our food and took our payment", which is one step above a McDonalds, where you order the food yourself (and honestly I would have preferred it that way). Again, we could have called up a waiter, perhaps yanked them by the arm and not letting go as they run past, flailing around trying to cater to many tables more than they can handle each. We figured it would have taken 30 minutes to get any second drinks so we gave up and settled the bill. Super mid. On top of that, the food was not great, and I know that's personal, but pasta was overcooked, and at 26 pounds for a plate of pasta, I expect the best pasta of my life. The place is cool inside and has good atmosphere, but it is very loud. Yes I know, I'm outraging the management right now because they can't do much about the noise, but it doesn't make it...