Little Sardegna — Restaurant in London

To all the Sardinian people and to all Sardinian food lovers, please do yourself a favour, avoid this place at any cost, and I will tell you why. I had booked last week a table for me and my wife for my birthday, via phone call, for dinner. When yesterday We stepped into the restaurant, the waiter did not knew anything about my reservation, first wake-up call. Firstly the drinks, cocktails were awful, ( 2 Negroni), wasn't expecting a high-class cocktail but as long as you put those drinks in your menu would be great if they are at list drinkable. They were not. Then We ordered , 2 starters and 1 main course. Here the problem are the prices, which are higher (on an average) than other similar restaurants which are in the same area and serve the same type of food, about a 20% more for every item we choose from the menu, which I can easily says that it is crazy. I ordered a selection of various cured meat and cheeses. The dish was very poor , 3 single small pieces of the same cheese ( ..."selection"...) 3 slices of a typical Sardinian type of salami , 2 slices of parma ham and 3 of coppa. My wife took a mussel soup, which usually it comes served everywhere with a decent amount of soup. Here it wasn't, there was just one small soup layer on the plate, and most important served with no bread. in this restaurant if you want bread you have to pay for it (£ 3.50!) even for the first basket, thing that is quite unusual and disappointing. Wine, be careful with the wine guys. I chose one bottle of white wine, the second most expensive of the menu( £ 65), which I know extremely well, and the waiter brought me the less- expensive wine of the same brand written in the menu. To be clear, the wine got the same name but it also got a second name that indicates that it is the more commercial and cheaper version, but this restaurant selling price is as it is the expensive one.To be really fair I had should rejected the wine , but i was not in the mood to have an argument with the waiter and/or the owner, so I took it, anyway this is a disgraceful way to raise profit from your guests, taking advantage of a possible poor knowledge of a foreign brand wines' portfolio, an easy scam. Finally the main course. A very typical Sardinian dish, culurgionies, highly over-priced( £16.50). Due to the price , i was expecting they were fresh hand-made, instead they were clearly frozen, and also the chef/ owner cooked them partially and badly, their consistency was so hard that it was clear they stayed a long time in a refrigerator and he should cook them more and better , because the amid of the pasta tents to crystalize itself becoming hard if you keep it at low temperature for a long time. Very disappointing and too way expensive experience ( with no quality at all). Sardinia is great, in particular its food,...

As an Italian born, I can only wholeheartedly vouch for the quality of the food in this place, so I would recommend anyone who hastily passes by in this area just on the border of Highbury to stop by and indulge what is possibly one of the most authentic and perfectly cooked Italian meals they'll happen to grace their palates with. The place is easily missed in these anonymous surroundings, but boy, is it worth the trip and every penny you spend!: if you're a seafood fan, don't miss the linguine with bottarga (they shred it on top of dishes whose main ingredients range from crab to clams and it's a touch of heaven). The octopus pasta is also delicious. I rarely find house wine tasty, but they serve a very good one, refreshing and not sickeningly sweet. The place itself is homely and welcoming and so is the service, which on top of that is funny and entertaining...and generous! A special thanks for letting us try a few "digestivi" on the house after we ordered the typical Sardinian liqueur: mirto. As close as you get to the gods' nectar! One word of warning: the service is great, but don't expect the food to be churned out at record speed. Everything is freshly made by gifted Marcello in the kitchen, so there is a reasonable wait for the courses to be prepared. Trust me, every second you wait has a...

On my most recent visit, I went with a friend and we had a lovely time. It was a Thursday night and even though we were there quite early (6.45pm), it was really quiet which surprised me. However, I’d still recommend to book as it’s been much busier when I’ve been before. We didn’t have any starters (my friend’s decision - I thought the burrata sounded great!). My main was the crab from the specials board, which was the perfect size and definitely not stingy with the crab. Really tasty. For dessert we shared the tiramisu which was creamy and light and I loved the flecks of crumbled amaretti biscuits on top, and the lemon sorbet. It’s hard to know what to say about lemon sorbet as it’s rare it’s not good. This was good.

Prices were fair - my crab was about £16/17 and desserts were £6/7

Great for a cosy catch up,...