Riccardo's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in London

Where do I begin? Absolutely terrible. Do not go, the pizza express down the road is a much better way to spend your time.

Myself and my girlfriend have walked past this restaurant a fair bit and finally gave it a try (very regrettably might I add), from the dull atmosphere to the terrible staff, this was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in London.

We were interested when we saw they had tapas options of their main meals, so we wanted to try a few dishes between us. Of course we know tapas is smaller, but these portions were something. I want to add that the staff should’ve advised us how many to order, what’s good etc. we went for 5 options, which we thought would be fine, as this is pretty standard for most tapas options (2-3 per person).

We ended up going for:

Bruschetta- £5 for one tiny slice (I forgot to take a photo as we were laughing too much as it set the tone of what was about to come). The taste was average but I couldn’t get over how small it was, similar size to a Nokia phone.

Chicken Meatball in sauce- £8- notice how I said meatball instead of meatballs. £8 for this? We were honestly trying to hold in our laughter when it arrived as we had joked about it before and couldn’t possible imagine it turning up like that. Taste was- 3/10 with what was definitely a jar of sauce. Presentation well, look…ONE MEATBALL?! For two people? Just let us know it’s only one, I wouldn’t have ordered it.

Sautéed Potatos- £5- yes it’s cheap, but my god look at them, they look straight out of a freezer bag. Overcooked, disgusting and presentation…well the photo speaks for itself.

Pizza- £10- we asked for the sourdough option, did not get it- the base was cold and tasted odd, as if it was a wholegrain wrap with tomato purée and cheese on top. Absolutely gross.

Pasta- £10- This was the only dish worth having, nice pasta, decent tapas portion. I quite liked it. Although to the staff, I would ask if someone wants Parmesan (I did thankfully) before leathering it all over the top.

Staff- 0/10- Wow where do I begin again, they seemed confused about their own menu? Got our order wrong. Never checked in to see if everything was okay with the food, even when you could see we were noticeably shocked when some of the food came. Started to clear our plates as we were half way through some of it, when we said we weren’t done, 2 members of staff looked as us as if we were speaking another language, we let them take the plates in the end as to be honest, we did not want the food anyway. Then had the cheek to ask for service charge at the end, which I paid as I just wanted to get out of that place as quick as I could. I appreciate people can be new to waitering, but multiple staff, on a quiet Monday night being this poor, was shocking and there was no noticeable manager there, if there had been I would’ve asked to speak with them.

To top it off, we both had horrible stomach aches about 30 minutes after eating, a comment I have seen a few times in the reviews.

Will never be returning, and I would advise any other people who see it online or have walked past and thought shall we give it a try, please...

For more than twenty years I’ve been coming to Riccardo’s. My late boss, Mr Smith—a true champion of food and wine—first led me here, and it quickly became our default weeknight refuge. Decades on, the essentials remain gloriously unchanged: the location, the food, and that relaxed, home‑away‑from‑home welcome that modern life seems intent on stamping out. Thank God Riccardo’s has held its ground.

Disappointments are everywhere in contemporary dining; Riccardo’s stands as the rare, relentless exception. Even the prices have shown remarkable restraint. Honestly, if they doubled, most of us would still come—but they haven’t, because this is a restaurant whose proprietor recognises that loyal guests are the foundation of its legacy, not a well to be exploited.

After what may have been a seven‑year gap between visits, I owe special thanks to Gilberto and Adeeba. They somehow manage the trick of noticing the moment you need something without ever making you feel hurried. I lingered shamelessly over dinner; when I apologised for taking my time, Adeeba gently assured me there was no rush. Meanwhile the room filled—as it always does—yet no one was pushed, flipped, or “turned” for the sake of squeezing an extra cover.

And here’s the magic: because the team refuses to short‑change the experience, the guests themselves notice when others are waiting and will often give up their tables voluntarily. Decency begets decency. That’s culture; you cannot buy it.

I’ll try not to leave it another seven years—but if life conspires and I do, I hope to return and find nothing changed… except perhaps my waistline, which could do with changing (ideally in the opposite direction). Thank you, Riccardo’s—especially Gilberto and wee—for two decades of...

Not shown to a table, and not greeted with a smile as they claim to do so on their website. After a while had to ask for service. The so called tapas portions so ridiculously small that our party of four looked at each other in disbelief! After my starter arrived I had to ask for bread (a first in an Italian restaurant) to accompany my 'Carciofi Grigliati con prosciutto' and when after 10 minutes it did not arriveI I had to go to the counter and ask for it a second time as I could not attract the attention of any member of staff. The bread finally arrived and was burnt to a cinder on the bottom side (did not bother to send it back as I did not want to go through the same rigmarloe, ate the unburnt part). The most annoying thing however was the misinformation with a £28 bottle of Bio Pinot Grigio Mezzacorona. To me Bio means Biologico which translates to Organic. The bottle itself did not state whether or not it was in fact organic and when I quizzed 2 members of staff they were both clueless. Service terrible, lack lustre staff, food ok but not special and definitely not worth £227.24. Could get more or less the same at Franco Manca! Shame, as it used to be quite good. Next time I'll go to Lucio's opposite or one of the superior restaurants nearby in Hollywood road. Wish I had not paid £25 service charge. Don't believe anything you read on their website. I used to be a regular customer of Riccardo's father's (now defunct) restaurant 'Pontevecchio' and Riccardo's...