Venchi Chocolate & Gelato — Restaurant in London

Came to venchi on a Sunday night with a group of visiting friends from abroad. We were excited for them to try our favourite straciatella flavour only to be met by very unfriendly and apprehensive staff serving us. Has been a very disappointing experience which we have never experienced before despite coming here with kids for years and being loyal to the brand. Understandably the kids and guests wanted to try a couple of flavours before making their mind up but were refused to do so and we only got to try 3-4 flavours in total, very reluctantly. Despite being 8 people, all of whom ordered 2 flavours of ice cream and might have ordered more had we had encountered a member of staff who was more willing to sell us additional flavours and gave a few to try. The staff claimed that only 2 flavours per person were allowed, which is a policy we fully support but mind you we would have then been eligible to sample 16 spoons and we only attempted to try 5-6 in total and were met with a rude attitude and rolling eyes with a lot of unpleasant reluctance. And the chocolate coins normally accompanying the ice cream were finished and the staff offered for us to go to Piccadilly if we wanted a coin… very unusual resolution suggestion in my opinion. The ice cream was still great but the experience overall was horribly...

Venchi is an international Italian chain of cafes that sell chocolate and gelato using high quality natural ingredients.

As I entered their branch in South Kensington, I was spoilt for choice with a wide selection of chocolates, icecreams as well as milkshakes and crepes.

With very limited seating, I had a take away gelato. I opted for the Stracciatella which is vanilla chocolate chip flavour. Although I could taste good quality ingredients had been used, it wasn’t indulgent enough. Icecream for me needs to be something almost sinful where there is nothing healthy about it. It just lacked that creaminess.

Their shelves were filled with different coloured chocolate wrappers and their counter had all sorts of chocolates ranging from slabs to individuals including candied orange peel, pralines, almond bites, crème caramel, café and so much more. They also had their famous pots of chocolate spreads with Piedmont hazelnuts; a sign of high quality Italian sweets. Individual chocolates were priced at £9.00/100g and slabs at £5.40/100g. For a mini cone at £3.50 it is not the cheapest icecream. However, customer service was good. The place is elegant. But still I’ve definitely tried better...

I rarely leave reviews and I often wonder who has time for it. Well I found time for it. Horrible, unpleasant experience, and I profoundly regret buying ice-creams there. Overpriced, watery, and small portions. But the worst thing? The staff. And it pains me to say this as I hate capitalism, corporations, and franchises without a soul (Venchi or whatever made up name for churning profit is called is clearly a soulless franchise) and people are the only thing worth a damn in every enterprise. But these guys were just mean, rude, and robotic. Actually scratch that last thing, I don’t mind them being robotic and expressionless because to hell with it all, they don’t owe me a smile. However, they were actually unkind towards children, so I will never get back there again. Which is a wise decision, given that their pistachio is not on the same level as some other pistachios (Badiani...