Ciao Bella Restaurant — Restaurant in London

I’d called ahead in the morning and booked a table for two. I have been to Ciao Bella many times over the last twenty years and have fond memories of the food and long meals with family. Despite a reservation, it was a shame to be seated downstairs. Downstairs is dark and cramp and I politely asked to move. I was not prepared to spend an evening seated against a wall by the toilets. Downstairs is not a nice space and they need to address that. It’s dated. And sadly the food, although wholesome, does not warrant the price tag of the dingy cellar.

We were moved. Upstairs is nicer. Request ahead of time when booking.

But the service, whether it was because of the moving request or not, was hostile. It was rude.

We were not offered water. Every other table was.

We ordered. We tried to order the full 4 courses and were greeted with scoffing and ‘oh, you’re hungry?!’.

Yes, it’s an Italian meal. I assumed I’d booked the table for the evening. Why have the menu set out as ‘staters, first course, second course….’ If you don’t want customers to order that way? We pressed on…

The crostini was more stale-ini. Unexceptional.

The linguini pesto is phenomenal. A must order.

The rigatoni was offered to the tables next to us with added Parmesan. We were not offered.

My partner began to ask if this was homophobic.

The secondi options are not amazing. The addition of brocolli and carrot feels is as outdated as the attitude of the waiters. The ‘special’ of liver and grapes is more of an ‘always’ as it is always on the menu and although tasty, forgettable. The scampi is as you would imagine. The rosemary potatoes are a dim highlight.

The pudding is the best. The Tiramisu is exceptional.

The pianist is magical.

The wine list extensive and reasonable.

£200 for 2 including service and two bottles of wine.

All in all, fine, but marred heavily by the service. Sorry for the inconvenience of wanting a leisurely meal. Had we known ahead of time we needed to have a pasta and an ice cream with a coke and out the door in 35 minutes we’d have done our best to tick that on the...

I was really disappointed in the service that we received at this restaurant. We were served by 3 different members of staff and only 1 of them gave immaculate customer service.

As we arrived we were shown to our table, then 1 waitress arrived to take our orders and she was so moody we felt like she was angry with us and made us feel so uncomfortable. When she came to bring the drinks over, she wasn’t wearing a mask (non of the staff were) and instead of holding a tray she was holding the drinks against her chest and in her hands breathing all over them and touching them on her uniform.

As the food arrived, the guy that bought over the food completely slammed each and every item he bought to the table (plates, pepper) in such an angry manner (again making us feel like a burden). I was utterly shocked by his actions and everyone around the table had the same reaction saying “they must be having a bad day”. That is not an excuse to treat customers poorly.

The food tasted nice hence the 2*. Very standard Italian dishes, big menu and very flavourful.

As we finished our food there was a lovely waitress that came over and cleared our table, she made a lot of jokes with us and the tables around us. She had a very positive and upbeat attitude which was a breath of fresh air in this restaurant. She offered the dessert menus etc but we couldn’t fit in anymore food so we declined.

As we finished our drinks, the same guy came and aggressively perched over me out of nowhere and grabbed the glasses not even speaking to us.

We then asked for the bill which arrived promptly by the lovely waitress. I even told my friends I want to hire her if I get a new vacancy come up as she was delightful.

Customer service requires MAJOR improvement. Stop making your customers feel like they’re a...

Sorry to be a highly negative review on this restaurant, but you really shouldn't eat here if you have any intolerances or allergies and this review will explain in detail why.

They are a popular restaurant since they strike a good balance between price and food quality. The food was reasonable, the area is nice and quiet, and the prices are affordable.

But for gluten and allergy sufferers you need a restaurant that will work hard to listen to your allergies, ensure a contamination free environment, and give you the best tasting food given your restrictions.

NO RESPECT FOR ALLEGERGIES: The moment we said gluten intolerant we were cut off, handed a large (and inaccurate) list of allergens, and ignored. Upon ordering we asked some simple questions about cross contamination and got a rude response that "of course they keep the gluten free penne separate". And then got sick from eating said dish.

CONTAMINATION FREE ENVIRONMENT: Their kitchen is a cross contamination mess since they are busy and can't bother to pay attention to allergens. The only gluten free adaptation they have is a single type of gluten free pasta (penne) that magically makes food safe to eat for celiacs. It doesn't if the sauce is contaminated, but they don't care and won't stop to have a discussion about their health protocols.

HORRIBLE TASTING FOOD: We received a plate of food with zero seasoning. Frozen peas, carrots, and broccoli that are boiled and served bland is not an acceptable way to avoid allergens. And they still failed to reduce cross contamination so we had immediate symptoms.

So in summary, avoid this restaurant if you have any intolerances or allergens. The UK has many wonderful restaurants that follow health protocols and serve delicious food. This is just not...