Portobello Garden Arcade Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in London

It is very rare that I write an online review, however, I have to write this one. We had the worst experience possible yesterday in the Portobello Garden Arcade. We have chosen this restaurant for our anniversary dinner thinking that it is a cute little Italian restaurant in a perfect location. But it definitely isn’t! When we first walked in everyone in the restaurant looked at us as if we gate crashed a party which made us feel immediately uncomfortable. Whilst we waited for our order the table next to us sent back their food not once but twice and decided in the end to not eat anything which was a sign of things to come. We waited 60 minutes for our order, during our wait the waitress came to our table with wrong one as if they did not know which tables are which. After 45 minutes of patiently waiting we asked when we will get our food, and the waitress answered ‘I thought you’re already eating’ - she passed our table many times and her colleagues did as well so I don’t really know what she was thinking that we are eating but it certainly wasn’t the food that we have ordered! It is obvious to see that they have many online orders when delivery drivers continued to collect food throughout the evening which the chef in the kitchen CLEARLY could not deal with. When we finally received our meal a male photographer with enormous camera appeared in this quite small and crowded restaurant asking people to take photos of them to be able to sell it to them in a frame for £25! The restaurant staff wasn’t bothered by this fact at all! He was stubbornly taking pictures of the family that was sitting next to us even when their child hid under the table, he kept putting his camera with big flash just above my partners head, pretending he is going away and suddenly coming back just to get a photo of that child. The flash was extremely off putting when you are trying to eat a meal. After 5 minutes he came back, put his bottom in front my partners face trying to sell the picture to that family bending over their table and blocking off the light to our table. His behaviour was annoying, he didn’t respect any of the customers and he definitely didn’t respect us sitting there while he kept disturbing our dinner. We came there to have a nice time and to celebrate our anniversary over an italian food and nice drink, but what we got was extremely annoying and a disappointing evening! We will definitely not recommend this restaurant to any of our friends or colleagues! Also, the portions of the food were very small for the prices - we had cannelloni which literally looked like a starter not a main. We will not be...

Absolutely delightful Italian restaurant! My sister discovered it as she has a stall on the market, and invited me along as she knows I love Italian food. Wow! I was seriously impressed, I just loved the place and can’t wait to go back. Lovely rustic surroundings one side, smart but still relaxed the other, with great staff, full of passion, and evidently some serious talent in the kitchen. I shared a veg platter as a side dish and I’ve rarely experienced vegetables being given such reverence and prepared to such perfection, a totally delicious plate to go with my pasta. So many different things on the plate and all just singing with flavour, seasoning and freshness.

I opted for the norma rigatoni, a lovely dish. Rich with olive oil and very well-seasoned, pasta perfectly cooked, the aubergine beautifully cooked down. Friends shared a pizza which looked excellent and my side of potatoes were crisp with a dash of salt. Enjoyed the red wine, too.

I love this style of appetising, rustic, wholesome food, and the whole evening left me feeling extremely happy, especially as it was a birthday treat for me. I cannot wait to go back and try more of their menu, there is a lot on it that I really...

Disappointing Customer Service Despite Decent Food

We were really looking forward to our visit, but unfortunately, the experience was tainted by one staff member—the lady with red hair. Her attitude was far from welcoming. She came across as dominating and made us feel quite uncomfortable, We asked to sample some cheese before purchasing, which is a standard practice in many places, only to find out later that we were charged for it without any prior notice. That felt very misleading.

I also asked to add cheese to my seafood pasta (yes, I know it’s not traditional, but it’s a personal preference), and her response was abrupt and borderline rude. She actually raised her voice, insisting that it I’m killing the fish if I add cheese I couldn’t shake the feeling that she simply didn’t want to use their cheese stock for customers.

While the food was okay—decent, but nothing remarkable—the poor customer service, especially from this one individual, overshadowed the experience. We left a bit...