Little Italy — Restaurant in London

PLEASE AVOID THIS PLACE!!

My wife and I went here for a Saturday evening meal, as we hadn’t booked anywhere (first mistake!) and was then taken by the enthusiastic worker at the entrance encouraging us to come - so we did (second mistake!).

After being whisked in, we were served fairly quickly. The food came and was ok. However, the salmon tagliatelle was extremely salty and I couldn’t finish it.

We had barely taken our last forkful and the waiter was taking our plate away and came back with the bill, which was £60 for 2 plates of pasta, 2 drinks and a (small) bowl of chips. This included a standard 12.5% service charge! I questioned this and the waiter said we could pay it if we wanted or not.

We then noticed the manager instructing his staff to tell us to leave, as they “had a booking” (which wasn’t true) - even though we were still drinking and allowing our food to digest a little. From when we received the food to being asked to leave, we were there approximately 20mins.

As someone who works in the hospitality industry and appreciating feedback during a visit, to give me the opportunity to make amends if something has gone wrong, I decided to speak to the Manager.

This was a big mistake! He could not care less if he tried. After explaining the poor experience we had he said the 12.5% was normal, that we shouldn’t come if we wanted a long time to eat and that he needs to get more customers in. He checked how long we had been in the restaurant and the computer said 56mins, which he said was ample time to eat and get out.

Despite trying to explain further about our poor experience of his restaurant, he said, “I don’t have time for this as I’m too busy” (even though all he did while we were there was stand and boss his staff about, as he stood there in his jeans, trainers and worn out jumper!) and then walked away from me!

A poor culinary experience turned into a worse customer experience one after speaking to him!

Feel like we...

We visited here on a Saturday night; we were a table of 7 and walked in – the restaurant outside was quite busy, so we decided to sit inside which was much quieter. We were provided menus – which were very dated/sticky and not very good quality. We ordered a selection of starters and mains. The waitress taking the order wrote everything down but did not speak overly good English. Starters arrived, and at the same time – a main course and side dish also arrived, which we had to send back as we had only just received the soup. The Bruschetta was ok – but nothing special (very expensive!), and the Burratta dish was tasty but very basic and again very pricey for what it was.

Mains arrived (although one was wrong which had to be sent back) - several people had ordered Meat Lasagne – which was average at best, although tasty, the portion size was VERY small and the lasagne itself was very basic. One person ordered a steak and chips – which was extremely plain and cooked to the wrong temperature. The spaghetti and meatballs were tasteless, the meatballs quite dry and grisly, like they had been pre-made and reheated with little flavour. Another person ordered fish and chips which was again, nothing special, another ordered the Salmon Salad, which was super pricey and yet again, basic – with no dressing or sauce – just a very basic salad!

The bill then arrived, and the restaurant attempted to charge 12.5% service charge, which we asked to be removed due to the errors in the order and the lack of quality of food. The overall experience was basic at best .Although the restaurant has a nice ambiance and a traditional ‘trattoria’ feel, the prices are extortionate and the quality of food is poor which is a shame given that Italian food is meant to be cooked with passion and love, this felt more like canteen food being churned out to the masses. We won’t be returning and certainly do...

Had dinner here last night before the cinema. There are lots of Italian restaurants on this strip so high high expectations due to the competition despite also being in a tourist hot spot.

I was welcomed nicely and sat instantly. The first thing I noticed was that the decor seemed tired. Scratched wood, paper sign for the toilets and the place looked like it needs a bit of a makeover. The paper in the menu was yellowing. Just print a new one?

I wasn’t directly near the door but the door was kept open the entire time and it’s November so was a little surprised. It’s in part to having outside diners. But it wasn’t warm in the restaurant.

The next thing I noticed was it had fish and chips in the menu. I thought that very odd for an authentic Italian restaurant.

I ordered a glass of pino grigio and it pretty average. The weird thing was that the glass was so thick. I picked it up a few times as I don’t think I’ve had a glass with such a thick stem in my life. Took away from the refinement of having a glass of wine.

It came quickly and the server was friendly.

I ordered lasagne. It came and it was ok. No better, no worse. It was a little chewy on the top layer of cheese but was ok enough to eat so didn’t complain.

Towards the end of my meal the table of four to my left complained and asked for the manager. Citing poor service and something about the food. They were given a part refund and a free dessert. I think it was handled well by the manager.

Then the table behind me (2) complained about the food. Saying it wasn’t authentic and didn’t taste good. The server told them they couldn’t have a refund as they had almost completely finished the dish. They left pretty unhappy.

Before I left I used the toilet and even that was part broken. I think that’s the theme of this place.

I was pretty underwhelmed overall. I...