Pesto Genovese
Bella Italia

Bella Italia

10, Central Bldg Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, PO13TA, PO1 3TR, United Kingdom

Pizza • Cafés • Pasta • Coffee


"When we first got there, everything seemed great and lovely, the place looked nice and seemed to have a great atmosphere. We were seated fairly quickly and had no troubles in terms of our reservation. However as the night progressed things just started to go down hill. At first it took around 20 minutes to be waited on, which fine I can understand that, they took our orders and I thought great. However we were waiting nearly another 20 minutes just to get drinks, and even then they completely forgot around 3 out of 9 of our drinks and in the end ended up not given a drink to one of them the whole night at all. Starters came out soon after, They were nice nothing special, I cant complain. We didn't get our actual mains until around an hour after we ordered (bear in mind not everyone of us got starters). The mains come out and mine was cold, but I had been waiting so long that at this rate I just ate it and didn't complain. I had a friend who had one of the pasta options who's plate was filled with a sloppy, water substance. The meals were nothing special, pretty mediocre to be honest. We were then waiting another 30ish minutes wating for our dessert orders to be taken. They finally did and I will say they came out pretty quick and were okay, definitely the best meal we all had there. The worst part is when it came to us all waiting for the bill, we were ignored by staff when we tried getting there attention to ask for the bill, after having waited patiently for a good 30 minutes. It got to the point we put our hands up, made direct eye contact with them and they still ignored us. We put all our dessert plates towards the end of the table hoping they would see we where done, but nope. Our waitress left as well. As someone who has severe anxiety and social anxiety, I started to find this unbearable, which yes they don't know I have that but still it is there job to be looking after their customers. When we finally got the bill we, as we were doing separate bills, had to figure it out ourselves, with little to no indication from the new waitress that we had (our previous one having left). It was a nightmare and so disorganised. our reservation was at 7 in the evening and we didn't leave until nearly 3 hours later, almost 10 o'clock in the evening. It was supposed to be a great night and yet it was just full of stress. As we here leaving we overheard a table next to us speaking to one of the waiters that they had ordered desserts over 30mins ago and they had still yet to come out. I was shocked. I will say the toilets upstairs were nice."

Il Gusto

Il Gusto

11 Craven Rd, London, W23BP, W2 3BP, United Kingdom

Bars • Pizza • Pasta • Italian


"We were a group of friends meeting up after 45 years of being Facebook friends and simply chose Il Gusto bc of its proximity to Paddington station. Online reviews seemed okay but boy, how wrong we were to book a reservation in this restaurant! Normally Italian restaurants are known for their friendliness and good service. Not here. I was the first to arrive, 20 minutes early bc my trains only run hourly. It was pouring with rain and so I was surprised that the waiter told me that I should return in 20 minutes. He was standing in a nearly empty restaurant with a few people already tucking into their lunch. I suggested I waited on the booked table, he said no table had been allocated. So I ordered a glass of wine and olives while I waited for my friends. To be fair there was a waitress who was friendly and seemed embarrassed by her colleagues offhandedness. When my friends arrived the service did not improve. Really, trying to take away plates when we’re still eating is the height of rudeness. The restaurant wasn’t busy, there were other people eating but the staff weren’t rushed off their feet. My family work in hospitality so I know a group of well mannered friends are normally welcomed, not least bc it’s very easy to upsell to a happy group. The starters were fine, but the mains were disappointing. Not awful just nothing to distinguish them. A further point- are the staff trained to deal with nut allergy sufferers? I’ve never has such a disinterested response from a waiter for years, even when I took out my epipen to empathise my point. So, in summary staff training is needed bc if it wasn’t for the fact we’d planned this meeting for some time we would have walked out to find another more welcoming restaurant. By the way I was so shocked by the trashed toilet door I took a photo."