Marta — Restaurant in London

As a local, I really wanted to love this place—who doesn’t love pizza? But unfortunately, the experience fell short in almost every way.

From the moment we walked in, things felt off. The entrance was small and cramped, with takeaway customers waiting around, and we weren’t greeted upon arrival. I approached the tall, dark-haired host, who immediately told us, “You have the table for an hour and a half, just so you know.” While I understand time limits in busy restaurants, telling guests this the second they walk in feels unwelcoming. We hadn’t even sat down yet and already felt rushed.

Once seated, it became clear that the restaurant was understaffed. There was one waiter managing six or seven tables, and service was painfully slow. The same host who seated us only offered water, not drinks, and despite making multiple attempts to catch his attention, he actively avoided eye contact. After twenty minutes, I finally had to ask if we could order a drink. He apologised, explaining that the manager had left them short-staffed, but his frustration was obvious—he even sighed at our table. The atmosphere was tense, the energy stressed, and we couldn’t relax and enjoy our meal. On top of that, the restaurant was cold, with most diners keeping their coats on.

Visually, the space looks sleek and cosy, but the reality is quite different. The hard, uncomfortable seats and the icy air make it anything but inviting.

Then came the pizzas—dry bases, overly oily, bitter olives and, frankly, disappointing. After reading glowing reviews a couple of months ago, I was surprised by the quality. But when our waiter mentioned the restaurant had only been open for eight weeks, it became clear that many of those reviews were likely invited guests or friends.

When the waiter cleared our plates and asked how the food was, I was honest—I said it wasn’t to my liking. His reaction was one of pure shock: “Really?” As if the idea of someone not enjoying the food was unthinkable. If you’re going to ask for feedback, you have to be prepared for honest answers.

The service issues weren’t just limited to our table. A couple next to us, who ordered before we did, still hadn’t received their food twenty minutes after ours. After asking three times where their meal was, they finally got their pizzas—an hour and five minutes after ordering. The restaurant apologised and comped their meal, but a free pizza doesn’t undo a ruined dining experience.

Despite the in-house chaos, we noticed that takeaway pizzas were flying out the door. This might explain the slow service—perhaps they prioritise takeaways over diners.

At the end of the meal, we were given our pizzas for free, but honestly, I wouldn’t pay for them again. Our experience was overshadowed by poor service, a stressful atmosphere, and food that didn’t live up to expectations. I genuinely hope they turn things around because a warm, welcoming team can make up for a lot—but at the moment, they have a...

A Disappointing Experience Despite the Venue’s Success

I recently visited Martha in Chelsea with a friend, eager to try this new pizzeria that seems to be enjoying huge success since its recent opening. The restaurant has only been open for about two weeks and is fully booked every night. Naturally, such popularity sets high expectations. Unfortunately, the experience was extremely disappointing. Having lived in London for several years, this was the first time I felt so poorly treated in a restaurant.

Upon our arrival, my friend politely asked not to be seated at a table right next to the stairs. As the restaurant wasn’t full at the time, we were moved to another table further inside the restaurant. This seemed reasonable enough, but it quickly became clear from the server’s unpleasant remarks that this change had apparently caused organisational issues for him, likely related to the table reservations.

We were fully prepared to respect the hour and a half time slot allocated to us, but as soon as that time was up, we were asked to leave our table as it had been booked for the next guests with no buffer time in between. We were relocated to the bar to finish our meal, which we accepted without issue, understanding the situation.

However, this is when the server’s attitude became particularly unpleasant. When we asked for dessert, he responded condescendingly, saying it was already “very generous” of them to let us move to the bar and that he “wasn’t about to turn the bar into a restaurant table.” I politely offered to skip dessert if it was too complicated, but he eventually agreed to serve it.

Yet, when it came time to pay the bill, the server made a point of expressing his frustration, blaming us for putting him in a difficult position due to the initial table change and the time we took. While I understand that this may have complicated his scheduling, it absolutely did not justify his rude and condescending behaviour throughout the evening.

I understand that the restaurant is new and experiencing a surge in popularity. This can certainly be challenging for the team, especially during the opening phase. However, this does not excuse treating customers with such a lack of courtesy and respect. A minimum level of professionalism would have gone a long way towards improving our experience.

As for the food: • The rocket salad was tasteless, served without salt, pepper, or dressing, which made it feel like eating raw leaves with no flavour. • The pizzas were good, but the menu wasn’t particularly innovative.

In conclusion, the quality of the food did not make up for the dreadful attitude of the staff. The success of a restaurant should never be an excuse to justify treating customers poorly. I would not recommend Martha to anyone looking for an enjoyable dining...

TERRIBLE experience at Marta. UNHYGIENIC restaurant with unkind and unhelpful employees.

We are really upset by our experience at Marta this Sunday. We live in Chelsea and had reserved a table for myself, husband and our two young kids.

We had previously got a take away from Marta when it first opened. The pizza was so soggy in the box, but we thought we would give it another go this Sunday (in case our experience was due to restaurant teething problems in its first month of opening …)

We arrived slightly early at 1.15pm for our 1.30pm lunch reservation. There were 4 tables free but we were told we would have to loiter by the bar?! Not ideal with two small children under 4. Whilst there, I was unimpressed to see the hostess opening packs of Sainsbury’s parma ham and putting them on someone’s pizza? She thought the chef had asked her to do this, but she misunderstood and even he looked disgusted. She hadn’t washed her hands before touching the food. It was a little gross to watch.

We sat down and ordered starters and two pizzas. The starters arrived fairly quickly - a rocket salad and zucchini flowers. We waited 45 minutes and our pizzas were still not ready. The staff assured us they were cooking. We were tired, hungry and frustrated at this point. People who came in after us were getting their food. Our kids were starving.

We kept going up ourselves to check what was happening. Ultimately my husband asked the chef where our pizzas were. He said he hadn’t even started making them? So the staff had lied to us. My husband speaks fluent Italian and started to converse with the chef. The chef agreed that our experience had been unacceptable.

We just got up and walked out. We shall NEVER return to Marta.

Do yourself a favour and head to other neighbourhood restaurants like Gea, Cambio de Tercio or Bottarga of you wish to have great food coupled with...