Ristorante Carola — Restaurant in London

A group of us visited Ristorante Carola as a catch up before Christmas. We received a warm welcome at the door and we met the friendly manager, but that was were the highs stopped. On being shown to our table a waiter quickly appeared, provided a menu and asked what drinks we wanted. I asked for table water, to give us time to properly view the menu and I was told no. We were then pushed to order drinks and only when others had ordered cocktails did the waiter return to me and agree to bring table water. Others who joined our table had the same treatment. The food was tasty although some portions small. Starters were fine as were mains. I would highly recommend the cheesy garlic bread but the ribs although tender were slightly salty. With dessert, the tiramisu was good and a generous portion. The apple pie special, was clearly a portion for 1 but had been cut into 2 and charged at £6.25 each. On raising this with the wait staff we we were told next time order something else. The biggest complaint of the night came with the bill. Our first request for a separate food and drinks bill was met by a no, by the same pushy waiter. He explained we should have told him we wanted this before ordering food and drinks. He then disappeared. A further request for separate bills to the same manager was met by a yes and it was no trouble for her at all. Some of our group couldn't make it to dinner and although a £10 deposit had been paid by everyone, the deposits of those who did not come was kept by the restaurant and not taken off our final bill as the restaurant had not been informed in advance. We explained we had been unaware people wouldn't arrive, in fact as we waited the manager suggested we try the cheesy garlic bread. However, it was restaurant policy to retain deposits of no shows, irrespective of the total amount of the final bill. Nowhere was this policy explained when we booked or when we ordered. This is not a policy I have heard of especially for a non-central London restaurant. Definitely not a restaurant I would go to again. Even the complimentary limoncello shots provided to tables was not provided to ours. There are other pubs and Italian restaurants in the local area which offer...

What a hidden gem! Tucked away on the border of Blackheath is this superb Italian restaurant run by the friendliest and most attentive staff!

I had the seafood salad to start with and its was a nice sized portion of mixed shrimp, mussels, welks, octopus and squid on a base of lettuce, carrots and topped with onion rings and a nice oil and vinegar dressing. So delicious. We also had a generous portion of garlic bread to share, which was delicately toasted till slightly crispy and very tasty.

For mains, i chose the Linguine with strips of Aberdeen Angus beef in a creamy and tomato based sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly with the right amount of harness/softness, elasticity and texture. One would say, Al Dente! I really enjoyed the flavour of the combined pasta, beef and sauce. Very enjoyable and authentic!

Dessert was a homemade Tiramisu, which was by far, the best tiramisu I've had! Much better than the hand made one I had in an expensive restaurant in Rome last month! I could really taste the espresso and the light fluffy cream was not so heavy on the stomach at all. Nice sized portion and I could easily finish it all despite being full already.

When it was time for the bill, we were offered a complimentary shot of limoncello. This is a very nice way to top off the fantastic culinary experience!

I really enjoyed the entire evening. Seating and tables nicely spaced out so its not too crowded, staff were friendly and welcoming, and the food is absolutely divine!

Will definitely revisit again soon to try the other menu...

Lively Italian with decent food. It's one of my 'go to' take out places, and whilst I've never eaten in the restaurant, it's always packed, which I think speaks for itself. There's a small bar to get a drink whilst you wait for your order (only 3/4 seats: this is to accommodate people waiting for take out, not somewhere for your party to chill pre-dinner). The menu is regular Anglicised-Italian fare, but pretty big, with pasta, pizza, some meat, some seafood, steak and chips for your friend who doesn't like Italian, no surprises. I very much like the cozze (mussel) starter. It always tastes fresh and the portion is huge - I sometimes end up eating that then saving my main course for another time! I have found the mains to be somewhat hit and miss, but mostly hit (after all, I do keep going back). Generally the pasta dishes are nice. Nothing to write home about, but no complaints either: satisfying. However, on the couple of occasions I've ordered meat dishes, they've not been great. Not terrible, but overcooked and just not very nice, with sub-par sides. Sick with the starters and pasta and you can't go wrong. Certainly somewhere I'd consider bringing my family or a larger party for a fun, crowd-pleasing night out, and great if you have a sudden craving for lasagne take out (they always throw in olives and a pot of...