Roquette Parmesan Salad
Deane & Decano

Deane & Decano

537 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT97GQ, BT9 6GU, United Kingdom

Pasta • Steak • Coffee • Italian


"Booked for our daughter’s dinner celebration. Started badly with a surly welcome from the lady (R) at the front desk. When we asked for a change of table so we could sit at the window (which we had requested and confirmed several weeks prior) she begrudgingly “allowed” us to move. That really set the tone. My wife ordered an Aperol Spritz reiterating that she wanted Soda water. An Aperol Soda arrived. When we flagged that we had ordered an Aperol Spritz, Rebecca told the barman to “just throw a Prosecco in there”. We then overheard her conversation with the barman, very clearly discussing how my wife was “another difficult one” and from that point she didn’t come near us. The atmosphere was tense and unwelcoming to say the least. The rest of the staff were extremely professional courteous, attentive, and friendly and our food was equally good. The squid starter was light and extremely tasty, with a hint of chilli heat. Our main courses (prawn risotto and lamb ragu tortellini) were generous, well seasoned and tasty. The wine (Alvarinho from Portugal) was crisp and well priced. Much as we enjoyed the food, and the service from most of the staff, this is not the first time we’ve had a poor experience with front of house here . And from some of the other people we’ve shared our experience with, they have similar feedback. Take note Rebecca the rest of your staff are showing you how to do it."

Osteria del Portico

Osteria del Portico

7A, The Green, High St, London, W55DA, W5 5DA, United Kingdom

Pasta • Seafood • Italian • European


"I don’t know how it has the stars that it has and how it gathers the reviews that it does, but it’s all unmerited. Frozen fish, cheap wines, frozen babà with nowhere near the classic level of rum required. A friend ordered spaghetti al ragù which showed up like a plate of leftover pasta overcooked, thrown together in the manner a teenager would present it and some of the spaghetti looked broken, I suspect recycled from someone else’s leftovers. I’ve never seen anything like this. I was given a taste of wine before deciding and it came in an overly refrigerated bottled with almost spit level at the end and needless to say, it tasted burned from the cold and acidic. As a southern Italian, this place is a gimmick for British people who have zero taste in food and who are quite happy to spend their money for the sake of saying they went to an Italian restaurant. Nothing authentic about this place whatsoever, in fact a tragedy to state that it represents our cuisine, as it does not. No Italian restaurant delivers fritto misto or any fried fish dish with tar tar sauce, which you actually need in this instance to disguise the chewy, frozen calamari and the prawn that burst frozen water in the mouth. I’m sure they can recycle my leftovers. What an insult. Disgraceful on all fronts. Never again. Scappate è andatevi a mangiare un McDonalds che almeno sapete già di rimanerci delusi."