L'artista Ristorante Pizzeria — Restaurant in London

I recently had the pleasure of dining at L’artista Pizzeria a wonderful Italian restaurant located at 61 The Parade, High Street, Watford, GB WD17 1PL

I visited on Friday without any reservation, the place was busy but me and my friends were welcomed with a warm and inviting atmosphere that immediately put us at ease.

The first thing that struck me about this restaurant was the attention to detail in the decor. The walls were adorned with beautiful pictures of celebrities, and the lighting was just right to create a cozy and intimate ambiance.

After waiting for 3-5 min we got a place to sit.. once we sat down were given the menue as one of our friend is a vegetarian we decided to order everything vegetarian

(cheeky move: I looked around at other tables they were receiving big serving so ordering couple of things from the menu and sharing was the best move ;)

Moving on to the food, I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of the ingredients used in each dish. From the appetizers to the entrees, everything was fresh and flavorful. I particularly enjoyed the bruschetta classic, which was topped with ripe, juicy tomatoes and a perfect blend of herbs and spices.

For my main course, I ordered the Penne Al'arrabiata, Pizza Funghi and Garlic bread which was one of the best I have ever had.

Pasta sauces in Penne Al'arrabiata was delicious flavoured with tomatoes, garlic and dried red chillies I believe.. would love to know from where do they source their tomatoes as they reminded me of my time in Italy.

The wine selection was also impressive, with a wide range of options to suit any palate, however we opted not to order wine as we were all driving.. to and back from the place..

Last but not least, the service at this Italian restaurant was impeccable. The staff was attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu and wine list. They made excellent recommendations and ensured that every aspect of my dining experience was enjoyable.

L’artista Pizzeria follows the Italian traditions of making the customer feel special and specially when they are celebration their birthday … they dimmed the lights and a staff led the way with complimentary cake and staff followed her by playing drums and tambourine it created a great vibe … definitely a place to be if you are planning to celebrate your birthday there ..

When asked if I could take some pictures the staff also posed for me .. it's a great bunch of people made us all laugh 😂

Overall, I would highly recommend this Italian restaurant to anyone looking for an exceptional dining experience. The food, atmosphere, and service were all outstanding, and I can't...

L'artista is practically an institution in Golders Green and it's been there under the Northern Line bridge for donkeys' years. Parking has always been awkward - this is on a main road and the buses stop more or less next-door - and the nearby streets are virtually all residents-only.

Family invariably goes to L'artista on special occasions. Latest visit was for Father's Day, and most of the serving staff were new to us.

Not cheap (but prices everywhere have risen as businesses try to catch up with what they lost over the last two years of relative inactivity, let alone the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war). They serve all the popular Italian standards here and they do them well. There's always a lot going on in their menu and it's difficult not to salivate whilst you're reading it.

Portions are generous - almost American sized - and realistically a half-portion is more than enough for most stomachs. The restaurant will let you take a doggy bag home if it proves too much for one sitting.

I went for the insalata di mare this time as at my age I don't digest pasta and pizza very well - ingesting that much dough makes me feel unwell. Anyhow, the 'di mare' is usually presented as a £10.60 starter, but the kitchen increased the portion size to make it more of a main course. It turned out quite good - the squid rings in particular were excellent, whilst the lettuce and tomatoes were well-oiled - and I think I'll have this again on the next visit as I'm a massive fan of seafood.

Some minor nitpicking points:

a couple of the mussel shells had failed to open up during cooking. Usually it is said that these should be discarded before serving, but I managed to prise the shells open and ate the contents. So far I'm still alive so I guess they were absolutely fine anyway;

the prawns had a slightly erratic texture. Normally you look for a firm texture throughout. Mine were firm inside, but the outer surface felt a bit mushy, as if the prawns might have been 'on the turn', so to speak. It's a really odd feel (and the only reason I knew about it was because I've encountered mushy prawns before from M&S that hadn't kept all well in the fridge overnight). Anyhow, I ate them and am still here to tell the tale so they probably weren't irredeemable.

Seven of us resulted in a bill of a shade over £99 including a few drinks (only one beer, though) so, per head, it works out quite...

This is a heartbreaking situation for myself and my partner to know that L'artista that we enjoyed for years now, have been treating us so unwelcoming on our last visit there. On our arrival, the owner (or manager) didn't seem too happy but he showed us to the table. We've been handed the menus and waited to have our orders taken. I was very thirsty so after a while we tried to acknowledge the owner with a discreet hand sign, that we're ready to order. We were replied short and irritated: "Aspetta!" (which is "Wait!"). Our efforts were pointless, so my partner went to the bar himself to get a jug of lemon water. We've always had a long wait to get our orders taken, but this time, besides waiting, there were also these uncomfortable jokes they were making (in Italian). For them, we were not customers, we were a herd that needed feeding, and they seemed unhappy every time that main door opened and new customers came in. They were not only annoyed, but completely ignorant! The most shocking, unexpected and unprofessional line I ever heard in a restaurant (coming from the owner/manager), was: "We don't need customers, we need staff!" He said that so firm and loud, it hurt! We sat right in the middle, not in a forgotten corner where you can't be bother! but that didn't help, as both the owner and the lady who is regular staff there, would pass by dozen of times and didn't say a word...you know, things like: "Apologies for the wait, we will be with you soon"...ok, forget about apologies, as they don't seem to know such word! I'm sure you know what I mean! 000 Customer service! Our total wait was 45 minutes, where we didn't have taken at least the drinks order. Pizza there was our favourite, and it meant a lot for us to go out and enjoy a lovely meal together. We understand they were short of staff, but we would have appreciated a different approach. It's one thing when you just try a new restaurant and staff is unfriendly, unwelcoming. But it is different when your favourite Pizzeria treats you like that. That experience, together with their mean "jokes", rude and unwelcoming attitude, we will sadly stay away from such disrespectful hosts.

To L'artista Pizzeria: You may do amazing pizzas, the environment feels authentic Italian, and the music is great. But your efforts of doing so are pointless, as you should never ever feel a...