Corleone — Restaurant in London

Really pleasantly surprised by this place! We were meeting friends nearby but had a bit of time beforehand and we were feeling a bit hungry. There isn't much around the station but this place is literally across the street. Usually, that would mean it probably couldn't be that great, I was totally wrong! We walked in and there's a long hallway that leads to the open kitchen and restaurant. There is a definite warmth and coziness about the place, it feels like a neighborhood spot! The host was welcoming and was able to squeeze us in without a reservation. Menus were produced and drink orders taken quickly. All the Italian staples were there and it was great that some of their pastas were even homemade! While the pasta was tempting (always in the mood for pasta), one look at their pizza oven pretty much solidified our decision to get one of their pizza offerings. To balance the pizza, we ordered a Caprese salad (£5.50). The salad was light and fresh and a great start to our meal. Since we knew we would be having more food with our friends, we only ordered one pizza. The Capricciosa consisted of tomato sauce, mozzarella, ham, mushrooms, artichokes & olives (£10.95) and came to our table piping hot. They had even cut the pizza in half and placed it on two plates since they knew we were sharing. That's service we rarely see in London! The crust was thin, crispy and slightly sweet - really good. The toppings were all fresh and the cheese was perfectly melted. Everything was reasonably priced, fresh and tasty and the service was friendly and on point.

From start to finish this was a great meal. Sadly, we don't live anywhere near here or this would definitely become our regular go to...

Food is fine, not amazing and it's vastly overrated and overpriced for it's quality. The service is absolutely dreadful and the servers barely speak English which makes for a painfully awkward and somewhat embarrassing exchange for someone serving you dinner. The owner is often sat in there treating it like his hangout place with no interest in keeping the place up to standards and he short changes his staff in their tips and pays them under the going rate but forces the customers to make it up in service charges who then get upset when a customer doesn't wish to pay their wages after paying a premium for dinner.

The atmosphere is rustic but tacky, if you look around you'll see dust collecting in the ceiling and tables are dinged and worn. The condiments are old and off tasting and when you pay nearly an extra three pounds for more meat they put two cubes of salami on.

Unprofessional owner short-changing his staff, overcharging locals and offering a lack luster experience and yet if you head up the road for ten minutes into Clapham common you'll find mind-blowing pizza.

It's a great place for those who don't know what a...

This was one of those experiences where we were genuinely surprised, positively that is. We choose the restaurant based solely on the reviews here, and we were a bit sceptical when we first came in. The décor is cheap, the plants are made of plastic and the water we ordered came in a plastic container.

The staff was super nice though and the chefs working in the kitchen looked busy and happy.

We ordered an appetizer and a main course, and were simply blown away by the experience; nothing short of a fantastic meal. I am still contemplating this, but I think I just had the best pizza in my life! And believe me; that's saying quite a bit.

Looks can be deceiving and tonight...