Stecca — Restaurant in London

Overpriced food and their service needs great improvement. We had a reservation for 2 and they insisted we get the table close to the entrance, which I insisted I did not want and was happy to wait for another table to become free. They insist we sit and they’ll give us another table as soon as it comes free. After about 5-10 min. another party of 2 walks in without a reservation but they seemed to know the waiter and manager and like magic they had another table for 2 in the back which they did not offer us. They never offered another table and we had to eat close to the entrance where it would get super cold every time someone opened the door to leave or enter the place. The food is average, I am italian and can cook better than what we had there and I am not a chef. Will not recommend to friends and not come back anytime soon.

Response to the owner We will not be coming back thank you. As stated above the food is average - this is why we did not complain about it during the evening - but the service requires great improvements to be up to standards and definitely not worth paying an overall bill of £93.38. I asked for a different table on arrival and had a reservation and was told I’d be offered another table as soon as it became free and that never happened. A regular customer walks in without a reservation and was offered a table that we were not offered. We left after 45 minutes as I was cold and went for dessert elsewhere. Not to mention the smell of smoke that would come in anytime someone would open the door next to us. The food is average, but it does not worth the experience and treatment we received and it’s a shame as this restaurant was recommended...

Siamo clienti "abituali" di Stecca, ma l’ultima esperienza è stata talmente deludente da farci dire: mai più.

Era sabato sera e il ristorante era vuoto: eravamo gli unici clienti. Una cosa che dovrebbe già far riflettere. Il nuovo locale accanto, invece, era pieno. I proprietari di Stecca sembravano completamente preoccupati e infastiditi dal successo del concorrente, al punto da frearsene totalmente di noi, gli unici clienti presenti. Uno spettacolo surreale.

Il servizio è stato distratto e svogliato. Abbiamo ordinato un fritto misto, che si è rivelato una delusione totale: calamari congelati e insipidi, senza alcun rispetto per la qualità. Anche se indicato nel menù, è un piatto che andrebbe evitato, punto.

Il momento peggiore però è arrivato con il primo piatto. Avevamo ordinato una pasta a base di pesce, ci è arrivata una pasta all’anatra e tartufo — un piatto completamente diverso, dal gusto molto forte e con nessuna traccia di tartufo. Appena ci è stata portata, abbiamo fatto notare l’errore. Loro, senza alcuna reale voglia, ci hanno detto che potevano cambiarla. Ma era tardi, erano le 10 di sera, e a quel punto abbiamo scelto di tenerla per non buttare tempo e cibo.

Ora, la cosa grave non è solo l’errore — può succedere — ma il modo in cui è stato gestito: nessuna scusa, nessun gesto di attenzione, nessun segnale di “non vi preoccupate, ci dispiace davvero”. Anzi, sembrava quasi ci facessero pesare la scelta di non voler aspettare un nuovo piatto. Questo ha creato un clima di imbarazzo, e abbiamo finito per mangiare quella pasta — che tra l’altro ci ha lasciato un retrogusto sgradevole — più per educazione e stanchezza che per piacere.

Al momento del conto, ovviamente, nessun gesto di cortesia. Nemmeno una parola in più.

In sintesi: una cucina mediocre, un servizio inesistente e un atteggiamento disinteressato verso i clienti. Stecca è più preoccupata dal locale pieno accanto che da tenersi stretto chi ha sempre scelto di tornare. Noi, da adesso in poi, non faremo più parte di quella cerchia.

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We used to be regulars at Stecca, but after our last visit, we’re saying it clearly: never again.

It was a Saturday night and the restaurant was completely empty — we were the only customers. Meanwhile, the newly opened place next door was packed. The owners at Stecca seemed far more preoccupied and bothered by their neighbor’s success than they were about the only guests sitting in their own dining room. It was honestly surreal.

The service was unfocused and indifferent. We ordered the mixed fried seafood, which turned out to be a disaster: frozen, tasteless squid, with absolutely no attention to quality. Even if it’s on the menu, it’s a dish that should be avoided altogether.

The worst part came with the pasta. We had clearly ordered a fish-based dish, but they brought us a duck and truffle pasta — a completely different plate, with an overpowering duck flavor and no real truffle presence at all. We immediately pointed out the mistake. The staff — clearly unmotivated — said they could change it. But it was already 10 p.m., and we didn’t want to wait even longer, so we said we’d keep it.

Now, mistakes happen — but what really matters is how you handle them. And in this case, there was no apology, no reassurance, no kindness. If anything, it felt like they were passively blaming us for choosing to eat the wrong dish instead of waiting. It made us feel awkward and uncomfortable, and we ended up eating it more out of politeness and fatigue than anything else. And yes — it left us with a truly unpleasant aftertaste, in every sense.

At the time of payment? No gesture, no acknowledgment, nothing.

In short: mediocre cuisine, nonexistent service, and zero care for the people sitting at their tables. Stecca seems more focused on their thriving competition next door than on valuing loyal, returning customers. We won’t be one of...

We had an absolutely horrendous experience at this restaurant. We were a party of six and faced endless delays from start to finish. Appetizers took 45 minutes to arrive, main courses over an hour, and some dishes were either wrong or missing entirely. The service was chaotic, and although they were clearly understaffed, we were not informed beforehand. The food quality was shockingly poor; some dishes were inedible and lacked the ingredients described on the menu. When we raised these issues, the chef reacted aggressively, telling us to leave before we even finished our meal. To top it off, we waited over an hour just to get the bill, which never came until we insisted multiple times. The entire experience was a disaster from start to finish. While we understand staffing issues can happen, communication and basic service quality should not suffer this much. Overall, an incredibly...