Giuseppe's Ristorante Italiano & Pizzeria — Restaurant in London

Located down a small side street and underground means you’re unlikely to just stumble across this Italian, despite the neon lights and signs trying to attract attention. With no indication of what lies below you need a certain level of confidence to venture down the narrow steps! Immediately at the bottom we were greeted by a member of staff and shown to a table against the wall. It was early evening on a Saturday and the place was almost empty of other diners but there were still loads of members of staff. This made for a bit of an awkward atmosphere since with little else to do we felt like we were constantly being watched. The decor is nice, lots of pictures on the wall give plenty to look at; not strictly Italian as such but an authentic family and homely vibe. Perhaps some Italian music would have been a good touch.

The table was a good size for two people, set with placemats a laminated picture. The menu was very extensive and spoiling for choice. We settled with the Parma ham with melon, and garlic king prawns for starters. Bread was offered with the prawns which was good, because there was plenty of garlic oil to soak up and enjoy. The prawns were really big and tasty. The melon and ham dish was equally as large, served with slices of orange which was a good touch.

Plates were cleared very quickly and the main dishes served almost immediately after, so mention at the start if you’re looking to have a more relaxed and slower experience! Again, the prawns on the spaghetti ‘my way’ dish were huge and really flavourful. The crab and lobster ravioli was very nice too, with plenty of sauce and a large portion overall. Presentation of both the dishes was good and in keeping with the style of restaurant.

The desert menu was a bit disappointing in terms of options so we went without. A shot of lemoncello was brought with the bill. Overall the food was good but is very expensive. It’s nice to help support an independent place, and one that apparently sources their ingredients from the local market, but even with the large portions we felt a little cheated with the final bill. We also found the atmosphere a little less relaxing than it could have been, with the service from the staff being nothing special. The final sour memory was regarding the state of the toilets - really very poor and...

I used my taste card first time here with my girlfriend and I must say I felt like we were treated differently for using the tastecard.

Upon entering down the basement the place had a cosey vibe. It was near empty at 1745pm on a Thursday but I could see tables were booked for 1830, 1845 and so on. The waiter decided to seat us next to the stairs, not only it was narrow with a wobbly table top to bottom. It also felt very unhygienic being seated under the stairs where people's dirt from their shoe could sprinkle down onto our table, food and drinks.

I requested a different table as the one we seated on was wobbly, the female waiter gave me a... 'why you being dramatic look' said 'maybe' and walked off to tell their colleagues... shortly after that a young man with glasses, tanned skin helped us fixed our table. I told him it isn't just the stand that is wobbly but also the connection to the table. He kindly acknowledged that I wasn't being ridiculous at all and swapped the table for me. However our location remained the same, under the dusty stairs. I honestly thought it wouldn't be a big deal if we could sit at a better table, finish eating before 1830 and leave. They would still have that table available for the original customer who reserved it.

Any hoo, we ordered and the food arrived pretty quickly. My girlfriend got the vegetarian lasagna and I got a vegetarian penne. I must say the food was great, with the tastecard it was definitely worth it. Without the tastecard, debatable.. the service let's it down I must say. I'm not being unreasonable but out of 3 people that served us, only the young man who fixed our table would give us a smile.

We also ordered a glass of white wine and juice, which were served using the same glasses that were by the stairs.. finally for dessert a tiramisu. All taste good though.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh on the critic but I feel these are basic customer treatment. Don't seat them some where you wouldn't want to eat. Don't treat them like they're things you...

I was here with my close friend. A strange man kept touching her. She told him go AWAY. An hour of her hiding FROM HIM and telling him to leave her alone. She was in tears and scared. I told him to stop and leave her. He threatened me. I told two security men and two waiters. The stalker who was touching my friend was given a warning. He came and threatened me again. My friend and I left. We were too scared to stay. Years of celebrating Guisppe's. I will never go there again. I'm so sad that they don't respect women. When women are being threatened, they don't keep us safe. 3women and 2men customers intervened and asked him to leave us. It was clear he was being threatening towards us. Thank you to the women and men who stood next to me and said leave her alone.

I messaged the restaurant and the daughter of the boss. Sent the following response. Dear Catriona, thank you for your message and email and for bringing this to my attention. I'm completely shocked to hear what happened to you and your friend last night and can only apologise to you both for the way that you were let down. All women should of course be able to feel completely safe at Giuseppe's, behaviour ike that towards women is just unacceptable and I want you to know that I'm taking this very seriously. I will be speaking to my dad and our staff and security staff about what happened to find out why the situation was not dealt with properly and to ensure that nothing like this happens again. I have taken bookings from you recently, I recognised your name straight away on your email. We'd be really sad to lose you as a customer after all these years, but I understand why you feel that way after what happened. My sincere apologies again to you and your friend. Kind regards Lisa (Giuseppe's daughter).

I trust her. She will ensure that staff are trained to deal appropriately with men who harasses women. Thank you Lisa for restoring my faith...