Pappa Ciccia — Restaurant in London

Beautiful cosy friendly local Italian. I have been coming here to this branch since I was a kid myself when they first opened nearly 3 decades ago! The fact they have survived everything during that time is testament to the establishment. Over the past 27ish years I have gone for dinner with my parents, on dates - I even went to their special valentines night one year, had dinner and drinks with friends many a night, even my brother had his birthday party here... Nearly 3 decades later it still has the same wonderful atmosphere, with great food and lovely staff. I'm still coming whether for a morning coffee on my way out, to have coffee and a catch up morning or on occasions to stay and work on the laptop in peace... To have dinner with the family.

The menu has lots of kid friendly fussy eater items, just in case you have a fussy eater, their margarita is a safe bet, along with a few good pasta choices... For us who love to eat their is a lovely wide choice of meat fish and veg options, spoilt for choice really.

Our last family meal we had 3 foodies and 2 fussy eaters. OUR ORDER Starters - bruschetta, melanzane alla parmigiana and 2 portions of calamari.

Mains - 2 pizzas, pollo salad, pollo alla milanese, lasagne al forno, Mediterranean sea bass.

Desert - YES after all the above we still managed to order ice-cream and some panettone cake which was the perfect way to end the meal. DEFINITELY KID FRIENDLY! The kids love to pop in even if passing after school for one of their famous smartie cookies, which are extreamly popular with the kids locally. The staff always have a laugh with them, and even pulled the odd prank or 2 on the kids when we pop in... The kids love coming here, it's an experience for them thanks to the lovely funny...

This spot would be nice for a night out were it not for the poor food. The ambience is cosy and the atmosphere is friendly.

Pity about the food. We ordered arancini snd were presented with small rice balls coated with a thick hard shell of breadcrumbs. and minimal Mozzarella. Nothing like the real thing which is moist and succulent.

The carbonara pasta again had little to do with what a pasta alla carbonara is. It was one gloopy mass of fettuccine full of cream and oil. The cream is a giveaway. Anyone who has had proper spaghetti alla carbonara knows you only use egg, bacon from pork cheeks and pecorino cheese. One understands that cooks have some licence to substitute some original ingredients with more easily available local alternatives. But the addition of cream in this case was unnecessary and the result was bad.

The porcini risotto was heavily dosed with stock cube. The meatballs were rubbery and whatever flavour they had was masked by an oversalted tomato sauce.

The bill came to £66 for two including a small bottle of Peroni . The price would have been totally acceptable, had the food been of an...

I visited with a friend for a catch up. We had such a lovely time. Such an authentic Italian feel and menu. The service from the team was so welcoming and friendly, and nothing seemed too much. I am Coeliac and must adhere to a strict gluten free diet. While many restaurants and eateries have frustratingly reduced their gf offering during covid, Pappa Ciccia thankfully still offer a brilliant selection of gf options. Not just the options, but the staff and kitchen seem to be very knowledgeable on gf needs. When I said it was an allergy the lovely waitress spoke to the kitchen for me and returned to inform me that they would make a dish from scratch for me to ensure it had no cross contamination. They warned me against my original choice (mushroom risotto) as they could not guarantee one of the ingredients had not been cross contaminated before reaching them and she explained what I could eat and that they could create a risotto for me if I wanted! I really felt confident in entrusting my health to them! Such a great and reassuring experience over all! Plus as we left all the staff gave us a...