Peppe Restaurant Kingston — Restaurant in London

This place is unbelievable. I had never been before but the exterior was so nicely illuminated as I was passing it enticed me to stop. And what I encountered within was exceptional. A very warm, softly lit, cosy, rustic and inviting interior immediately made me feel comfortable. There was live music with a gentleman playing a guitar, singing and strolling about as he played, almost akin to a troubadour of old! It was full of merriment and happy families dining away in a subtle murmur of satisfaction. It is particularly family friendly, with little bambini coming and going with their families. Don’t let the presence of children deter you tho, these were amongst the nicest and well behaved children I’ve ever encountered in a restaurant. And speaking of kids, it’s almost run one by, haha! Daughter of the owner Peppe, her name is Giulia and I swear to God she is an angel! I’ve never encountered anyone so genuinely kind hearted and she’s still at school herself for crying out loud! She gets an A* for hospitality bless her. Shout out to Patricia behind the bar too who was very nice. In fact all the service staff were, a fantastic bunch of people, very helpful, attentive and friendly. They have the best of the Italian beers on draught amongst others and their wine list is phenomenal. The large glass of chianti I had was a very good one. And the food! I had a capriciossa pizza and it was sublime. That pizza chef knows what he’s doing. Light as a feather dough, high quality fresh ingredients, with big chunks of artichoke which I love, but the highlight of which was a wonderful pommodoro/passata tomato base, absolutely deliciozo! I want another one already! I cannot recommend it highly enough, whether you’re in a large group, going as a couple for a special occasion/weekly night out, as a family or even as a solitary individual patron, you will be treated equally wonderfully by this establishment. Probably best to book a table though if in a group of more than two, this place is busy which is always a good sign. Go check it out for yourselves, and bring your appetite with you, your stomach will thank you....

Will be giving this place a very wide berth - I visited here with a large group of friends and had the most disappointing experience that I've had at a restaurant in years! Started off with sharing a £9 starter of Calamari, was looking forward to a pile of plump golden crispy rings, and got the meanest portion of dried up, rubbery tentacles. Still kicking myself that I didn't stick with a pizza, I ordered the veal Saltimbocca (means 'jump into your mouth' when the opposite was true) at £19, served with roast potatoes, well what an aberration that was - I was presented with a large plate, with a measly, unappetising, tough as old boots piece of veal, a solitary soggy sage leaf on top, sat in a puddle of creamy white wine sauce - I don't think so!!! The 'roast' potatoes had not seen the inside of an oven, they looked like they had been half sautéed some time ago and were strangely served on a separate plate and stone cold. For this tidy sum, you'd think that there would be some vegetables thrown in, but no, nothing, nada, niet. News from further up the table, was a disappointing, stodgy, gritty pasta dish, oh dear, an Italian restaurant not getting pasta right, Signor Peppe, you need to...

Italian-english experience. I am Italian and I choose to stop at this restaurant because of the reviews. It might have been a one off bad experience. The restaurant looks very cozy and inviting, the staff is very welcoming and warm. The food, or at least what we ordered was disappointing. The"caldo siciliano " starter was a disgrace. The bread served was "microwave crunchy " with frozen fried "crocche"( warm outside and strangely cold inside). The non Sicilian arancini and fried bread where an offence to what an arancini or pane in carrozza should be. All of it served with a bit of garnish salad leaves that resembles the most cheap serving in the 80's. My wife took as a main the "Knorr veal saltimbocca" , the only thing she could taste was the veggie stock in the sauce, so salty. I took a starter as a main, the "polipo e patate" and it was okay. Okay because the butter burned taste overtook the octopus one. We did not took the dessert to avoid further disappointment. It might be a very Italian experience for foreigners but if this is the standard it's disappointing. Please note, this is one of the first bad reviews I ever wrote. I usually don't care but this time the...