Don Emilio — Restaurant in London

We booked a table for 7 people at 13:30. Things started off okay we got our drinks and ordered four starters: chicken bites, calamari, and two onion rings. But then the issues began.

The starters arrived one by one, not together, which was odd but manageable. What wasn’t acceptable was waiting almost two hours for our mains. Especially frustrating given the place wasn’t busy just two other tables, both of whom arrived 15–20 minutes after us, yet had their orders taken first.

We eventually ordered two burgers, four pizzas, and one carbonara. After an hour, still no food. When we asked how much longer, we were told “five minutes” it ended up being twelve. The food was average at best: burgers were bland and tasteless, pizzas just okay.

The worst part? After nearly two hours, the carbonara still hadn’t arrived. When the server went to check, we heard shouting from the kitchen: “What pasta?!?” completely unprofessional.

After we paid and began to leave, I used the bathroom. The kitchen is right in front of it. I glanced in and shook my head the whole experience had been bad and honestly painful. Then, someone from the kitchen the porter or maybe the chef (if you can call anyone in there that) shouted sarcastically: “THANK YOU!” Darling, you’re not my league at all. Chef? Well done. But not in the way you think. If you don’t know how to do it, ask for help. If you don’t want to do it, just don’t. Not Recommended!

Update:

Thank you for the passionate novella. Unfortunately, it seems it was built on a misquote: I said 90 seconds, not 9. That’s a minute and a half, not a blink but hey, i can understand!

Let’s clear a few things up, since memory appears selective: • We booked a table. We didn’t just wander in off the street, despite how you’ve painted it. • When we arrived, there was one occupied table two adults and a baby. After us, only two more small tables showed up. • Both of those tables got served before us. One of them even finished and left before we got our first course. • We waited two hours for our mains. One main was never served at all. Period. Yes/or No?

You say you welcome feedback, but your response sounds more like a lecture from someone who refuses to admit they dropped the ball. Blaming guests, misquoting them, and hiding behind “we’re a small, family-run business” doesn’t change the fact that the service was unprepared and chaotic. Calling us disrespectful for pointing out obvious problems might feel good in the moment but it doesn’t make the problems go away. Wishing you better communication and fewer excuses in the future. You’ll need both.

Warmest regards, The guy who actually does know how long it takes to make 4 pizzas, 2 burgers, and a Carbonara (which, let’s be honest, maybe it’s better it...

Below average. To say this is an “Italian” restaurant is just a lie. I ordered the Mezze appetizer, the hummus was dry, the eggplant dip had no flavor or salt, the falafel was cold inside and dry. I asked for Olive Oil to go with this app and she brings me vegetable oil that smelled rancid. How does an “Italian” restaurant serve vegetable oil with their balsamic vinegar?? Why is there not actual olive oil in the jar?

Secondly. I asked for the Pasta Ala Norma and asked for chicken to be added to it. The hostess/server went to the kitchen and yelled my order out and then laughed loudly after saying “with chicken”. This is hugely inappropriate and unprofessional, as I could hear her as well as the other guests in the restaurant.

Pasta lacked any flavor or salt and I truly felt like this experience was overall terrible. I am a chef myself and own a restaurant in the US and would have fired this employee on the spot if this was the case. Very improper and poor...

We had a table booked for 1:30 PM, but by 3:00 PM, we were still waiting for our food—despite there only being two other tables occupied at the time. To our surprise, the server took the other table’s order before ours, even though we had arrived earlier.

Throughout the wait, I repeatedly tried to understand what was causing the delay, especially given how quiet the restaurant was. Eventually, after an hour and a half, our food began to arrive—but inconsistently, one dish at a time, with noticeable gaps in between. I was the last to be served, only to discover that my meal had been completely forgotten and had not even been started.

At that point, I decided not to wait any longer. I paid and we left—deeply disappointed. The experience was unprofessional and frustrating. I’ve never left a restaurant hungry and so...