Donna Sofia — Restaurant in London

This place recently opened and we were all really excited for it as it had been our regular for Friday night family and friends dinners.

It’s been opened under the same name but with new management.

We had 5 adults and 7 children eating. We were told that the kids margarita wasn’t actually available after we ordered (not too much of a problem as we figured an adult’s one would get eaten - however the kids do really like pizza and we’d definitely be reluctant to go if we were having to pay for adults pizzas. NB - I did check and there’s no option for kids pizza on the menu) Three of us ordered the Fritto di Mare which felt a bit risky as it could go either way. However when it came, the portion felt small for the £23 price tag, and there weren’t any scallops as detailed in the description. When asked about this, they said they didn’t have any and subbed in giant whitebait instead. The other adult mains ordered were the lasagne (tasty) and the beef tagliata which seemed to go down well. Some of the kids had spag Bol which also seemed to get eaten up quickly.

They enjoyed their food but were still hungry after 🙈 I think a grumble or two was heard about the lack of scallops or the children complaining they were still hungry as they gave us a couple of bowls of complimentary chips. These were really appreciated and well received. But we also had to go home and make some extra pasta for our kids when we got back - it’s at this point where I wonder if my children just eat far more than they should??!!

So far, I feel a little disappointed with our meal. I would be unlikely to go for the Fritto di Mare again. I think the prices for the pizza seem pretty in line with other places but the pasta prices seem a little on the high side.

They have just re-opened however and so I’m very keen to visit again in a month or two to see what it’s like, as they are very...

After meeting the new manager outside a few weeks ago we decided to pop in and give Donna Sofia a try.

Positives Service - Very polite sweet staff a little bit green but nice and accommodating. Wine - A very small wine list but your Prosecco was top notch and was chilled to perfection. Pasta - The actual pasta was cooked perfectly aldente and the seafood within was cooked well.

Negatives Atmosphere - In an almost empty restaurant I’m not sure why we were seated right next to the kitchen, could hear the banging of the kitchen throughout the meal. Meatballs - These are obviously store bought frozen and microwaved. They were rock hard and dense. If your chef can’t make a meatball I’d be concerned. Caprese - Caprese should be served with lots of fresh basil I had to ask for this separately to complete my dish. Your tomatoes need to be improved also the ones used were just generic cooking tomatoes for a Caprese I’d expect a beautiful big beef tomato with gorgeous mozzarella loads of fresh basil and olive oil. It’s not a difficult dish to make beautifully but your chef seems to struggle with the basic. Calamari - Had a lovely coating on the outside but was unfortunately over cooked and chewy I even questioned if it was frozen. Pasta - Pretty basic again unfortunately my Napoli needed more seasoning and loads more basil. My friend’s seafood although cooked well was bland and needed a lot more seasoning. Basics - A fresh pepper grinder would have been appreciated not the silly shakers on the table for an Italian I’d have expected that.

All in all we were disappointed. Very sad as was hoping to find a new local we could pop into when we felt like a glass of wine and a...

Poor meal and service. I tried writing a review on Trip Advisor but when trying to post, the app froze and is now not letting me post for another month... We went for a meal one or two weeks after the restaurant opened and it was one of the worst experiences I have had. The decor is very boring, my starter one of the bland starter I have ever had (bruschette miste). The tomato, mushroom and Aubergine has no flavours. The presentation was also awful I am sorry to say. The pizza wasn’t bad but wasn’t anything special either (not great quality of ingredients). Service was awful, one of the waiters did not speak English and even though we did get a free glass of Prosecco, one of the waiters nearly ended up dropping the pizza on my friend as he was inexperienced and at the end when complaining about the standard, no gesture was given (i even had to ask for the traditional free glass of limoncello). I thought long about writing this review as this restaurant is new and needs time to settle but whilst the experience was awful, I would have expected a hello from the owner who I think is always around between this restaurant and the Da Mario shop. I wish you good luck but I will...