Tomato Cream Soup
Papa Del's

Papa Del's

347 Archway Road, London, N65AA, N6 5AA, United Kingdom

Cafés • Pizza • Pasta • Italian


"I was torn what rating to put for this place. The pizzas were good; not fantastic, but definitely above average. The tables are rustic and unusual, I understand why they like them, but with uneven surfaces , it was difficult to keep the glass standing, and they were very dirty, with cracks full of dust and grease, not optimal with a toddler playing with the fork. They should put a glass surface on top. That would keep the nice look, but make it possible to keep it clean. The service was not great, we had an unpleasant experience. I was there with my toddler, who was very hungry. It took a long time for the food to come, and I had to ask them to bring his juice while waiting, they had forgotten. Halfway through the meal, my son needed a nappy change. I left our coats on the bench and took him to the bathroom. When we came back just a few minutes later, our plates, his half full juice and everything else had been removed from the table. I had finished, but he, being a slow eater, had only had a quarter of his pizza, and was still hungry. They offered to make a new pizza, but since my son already had waited so long, and struggled to sit still, I wasn't sure what to do. Fortunately, it turned out his pizza was still on the plate in the kitchen, so they brought it back directly. I asked to get it to go, since I felt very stressed and didn't want to stay a minute longer. It was a nice day, so we finished the meal in the beautiful woods next door instead. It wasn't until long after that I remembered that we also had ordered dessert, which I think they charged us for even though we didn't get the chance to eat it. If I ever try this place again, it will be takeaway, I am not sure I would like to return to eat in the restaurant."

Salieri Restaurant

Salieri Restaurant

376 The Strand Covent Garden London, WC2R 0LQ, WC2E 7HA, United Kingdom

Pasta • Steak • French • Italian


"This was apparently a very old family run restaurant that was incredibly popular in its day. It’s in a fabulous location on the Strand, directly opposite the Savoy. Unfortunately, it now looks like it has been taken over and is being run by a relatively young team, who basically haven’t got a clue. They’re clearly riding on the coat-tails of what it used to be, but are just not cutting it. I’m pretty certain that I’m not the first person to come to this conclusion, as nearly every restaurant in the Covent Garden area is packed out for pre-theatre meals, but Salieri was suspiciously empty, with only three other tables occupied when we went in. The menu was hugely disappointing and not what I expected of a decent Italian restaurant. To give the staff their due, they try really hard (possibly too hard) to be polite and helpful, but what they’re offering is too feeble to match their enthusiasm. When my food arrived it turned out to be the most bland, tasteless, under-seasoned version of a pasta dish I have ever known. You would get more flavour out of a 99p microwave “ping dinner” from a supermarket. In the time we were sat there, lots of passers by were obviously looking for somewhere to eat and stopped to consult the menu. Every couple or group looked at each other and shrugged indifferently and walked on. Not one single person came in. I found myself wishing I’d also looked at the menu before walking in, but didn’t as I was led to believe it was the wonderful family run restaurant it used to be. Given that the staff are welcoming and enthusiastic, this place needs to sack the chef and replace him/her with someone who knows how to cook basic pasta dishes and can bring a creative update to the horrendous menu. Until that happens, I’m afraid I wouldn’t touch it again with the proverbial barge pole."