Il Pellegrino — Restaurant in Watford

Let's start with the beginning.Staff was extremely polite,helpful,smiling all the time,super friendly,we didn't wait to take our orders,super fast, and make us feel better,for what it was to come.I wanna thank them for this, because if they wasn't so nice with us I would in first second when I received so called food.Okay now, let's speak about the big problem, the food or let's say the attempt of food which they are serving.I ordered two carbonara, but I received something which let's say polite it is gross,horrible,a disrespectful attempt of food for the name of famous dish like carbonara.I don't mind if you want to reinvent a dish,but do it properly,do something wich has taste and is edible.We received some pasta,with alot of heavy cream,bacon,no salt,no pepper,no parmeggiano(we had to ask for it),a dish with no taste and the worst thing ever,parsley in carbonara🤮🤮,which is disgusting🤢,even a child can do better if he is searching online receipe. I belive the chef doesn't have a good taste for condiments like salt,he did a dish good for hospital,even there the food is better.If he is cooking like this all the time,he is good for a cantine in some country where they don't need a chef,just an amateur cooking person.I laught so much when I received so called carbonara,or better said carbonara soup with heavy cream,that I tought I will pass out from laughing,parsley was top,good job joke chef but keep that joke for you, don't ruin those carbonara.Luckly the waiters was so nice and they try to excuse the chef saying is an english version of carbonara and they was nice with us and polite to ask us if we want to order something else.A+ for those waiters👍, they keep that place nice and make you feel better after you receive your food,because the food is horrible for a so called italian restaurant.Is my first and last time when I eat there,for 40£ is way to expensive for...

I had high expectations after reading the fantastic Google reviews, especially since I am an avid foodie well-versed in Italian cuisine. The restaurant had great decor, and we were promptly greeted and seated by the waiter. The menu offered a variety of Italian classics, from pizzas to pastas and main dishes. Feeling adventurous, I ordered the Farfalle al Salmone, while my dining partner chose the Spaghetti alla Carbonara. The food arrived swiftly, and that’s when everything went downhill. At this point, I actually thought that I had plummeted into an alternate dimension where the food was utterly disappointing. The Farfalle al Salmone had an overwhelming smell of heavy cream, and the pasta seemed drowned in it. It lacked flavour and was quite dissatisfying. The dish was supposed to include prawns, but I only found 2, and the salmon was tasteless and dull. Also, I couldn't detect the promised delicious white wine sauce! After just two mouthfuls, I had to stop as it was making me feel nauseated. I invited my dining partner to taste it, and they agreed that it was very disappointing. When the waiter came to clear our plates, I explained the issues with my dish. However, to my surprise, we were still charged for it. The apology that we received was less audible than a hummingbird's wings, alas, lamentably, this was by far one of the worst food experiences I have ever had in...

Worst experience last night at Il Pellegrino. We had my mother’s 65th celebration and it fell like a flat squid in their venue. We have been here previously and enjoyed the food but last night we waited almost 1 hour for our food. It took 30 minutes just for drinks! There were no checkins. The staff were clearly overwhelmed and running around trying to pack in even more ‘cattle into the pen’. Guys just take 10 covers less and try to actually serve customers?

I was very tempted to dock their service charge but post the huge delay. It took almost another 20 minutes to even pay. I was just fed up and I could see my mother had been by the end of it. That’s the reason we took back our cake. Decided we did not want to cut this there and given the delays, we would have probably been at closing before they actually brought it out.

The food arrived hot and was tasty for the most part but being honest their Arrabiata was not spicy at all and felt like a pomodorro. The pizzas looked like slop on a plate and had been pre-cut in the most god awful way and honestly I’m just glad we didn’t have too much food ordered and it was reasonably priced.

It’s a joke if this is what Watford considers the best Italian. Honestly. Drive outside any find anywhere else. We won’t be eating here again and sadly will not be recommending this...