Il Bordello — Restaurant in London

Micro aggression in droves.

My partner and I walked in today (Saturday approx 4pm) and politely asked if they would have a table for two if possible. No issues if it wasn’t, we were aware it of how busy it could be at a restaurant this popular, given that it was Saturday afternoon and we had not made a reservation.

The issue is, the man who dealt with us was terrible. How and why you might ask? When we walked in he kept his arms folded, didn’t smile or even greet us. He just looked at me and bobbed his head once like I’ve just disturbed him doing absolutely nothing. Yet 20 seconds later a caucasian gentleman entered and your staff member was full of smiles, “hello sir” etc etc and completely ignored myself and my partner without so much as an ‘excuse me’; while he dealt with said gentleman and then another guest with his sudden cheerful demeanour. He and the other guests didn’t seem familiar with each other, I wasn’t dressed any better or worse than the other guest so I’m left searching for reasons that would explain the drastic double standards in treatment. In spite of this, we quietly waited while he dealt with other guests who arrived after us. My partner mentioned to him that he was actually quite rude to do that and shortly after he then stated there were no tables until after 9pm. As mentioned we were never upset about not being able to get a table. It was just how myself and my partner were treated in direct comparison to the other arriving guests. We were polite, respectful, well dressed and looking forward to eating here. I’m not Caucasian so it takes a lot for me to feel unwelcome but he certainly did that very well. Frankly he almost ruined our anniversary celebrations, but we decided not to allow a person who I believed judged me on my skin colour, and acted with so much micro aggression towards me to have any further effect on us. Instead, we went to an Italian restaurant nearby called il Bacino who made us feel so welcome and the food was outstanding. We spent close to £200 on our celebrations and salvaged our day. Your staff made me feel like a second class citizen with his subtle prejudice and...

We had an incredibly disappointing experience at Il Bordello, which was surprising after 20 years of living in Wapping without ever encountering such poor service. We had a reservation on Saturday from 4:30 pm to 6 pm, but the entire experience felt rushed and unpleasant.

The food and dessert were served so quickly that by 5 pm, the younger owner approached us with the bill already in his hand and asked if we were ready to pay. Immediately after we finished our dessert, he took the plate away, giving the impression that we were in some sort of race. It was impossible to enjoy the meal under such pressure.

When I asked to speak to the older owner, I was blatantly ignored by him, and neither of the owners offered an apology for the rushed service. While there were still plenty of empty tables, it was obvious that they were prioritizing maximizing turnover for incoming reservations over providing a quality dining experience.

To make matters worse, when I asked for a complaints book, the younger owner simply told me they didn’t have one. The entire experience was a nightmare, and we left feeling unwelcome and disappointed. For a restaurant in a neighborhood we’ve called home for two decades, we expected much better. This kind of rushed, profit-driven service does not reflect well on what is supposed to be a local favorite. P.S.: I want to clarify that there was absolutely no abuse towards the staff at all. My intention was simply to highlight the issues I experienced with the service. I felt the service did not meet the expected standard from the owners, and I wanted to bring this to your attention. The staff were performing more than well, but it was the owner who seemed to be rushing, which contributed to...

Please note this review is based on two experiences at this restaurant.

Having heard excellent things about Il Bordello from a few people people, we initially went along expecting an above average experience.

However, the quality of ingredients, presentation, service, and pricing were all disappointing.

The meat and cheese platter was just ‘ok’, although the choice of including pickled vegetables was a little unusual.

The mains on this occasion, both pastas, lacked flavour.

We also had trouble getting someone to serve us at several points and were told “I’m busy” on one occasion after trying to get their attention.

Following this, we figured we may have experienced an ‘off day’, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

The next occasion we ordered pizza, and it was incredibly soggy. It wasn’t ‘awful’, but it wasn’t what I would be expecting of a good pizza. Again, it was very busy, and difficult to get served.

We won’t be going back again.

I think it’s a red flag when a restaurant relies on awards that are nearing 20 years in age - I don’t particularly care if it was considered good at that time, it’s not now.

Lastly, Wapping has several Italian restaurants. If you do a little research (not that much, though), you’ll find most (possibly all) are better. Do yourself a favour, and go to one of...