"My colleague booked a table of 11 for a leaving meal. The first red flag should have been that they threatened a £25/head charge for any member of our party that couldn’t make it, but we missed that one. We arrived to find there isn’t really room for a table of 11 in the restaurant. The one set up ran back wall to front window, with barely any space to manoeuvre around it. The host (who I believe is also the owner, Jessica) made a nuisance of herself by getting in the way as we tried to figure out how we’d get people into the back of the table. We eventually managed once she left us alone. Those of us seated on that (back) side noted that the bench seat was very shallow and the pictures behind (at head height and lower) were at risk of being knocked off the wall if we made sudden movements. Not the comfiest. The table was set with £28/head fixed priced menus (see picture). When a member of the group questioned this and asked for the standard menu, we were told we should order from it as it’s too much hassle for the chef to prepare lots of different meals for different people. I must be mistaken in thinking that was the business of a restaurant. I feel it’s important to add that there were empty tables inside and out, so the place wasn’t exactly at capacity. The host insisted that they had informed my colleague when booking that we’d be eating from the set menu. This turned out to be untrue. Once this was cleared up, we were brought a new menu. The prices on this were different to the ones advertised on the website (higher, of course). Despite the menu having pizzas (just three, compared to the many on the online menu), we were told we could not order them. I personally felt like the host found it a hassle to serve us. Everything we asked seemed to trouble her. We weren’t offered an apology for any aspect of our experience, just excuses and a bit of an attitude. Once we’d ordered from the limited options made available to us, the experience did improve slightly. The lasagne was nice but overpriced at £18 a serving. Colleagues commented that they enjoyed their meals, but it wasn’t anything to write home about. The décor is nice. The young male waiter who served us was perfectly polite and helpful. The location is great. In summary, the problems seemed to centre around the host with poor customer liaison skills and a kitchen that is ill-equipped to serve multiple dishes at once. The restaurant’s claim that they are the ‘best Italian restaurant in London’ seems laughable to me. Perhaps we caught them on a bad day, but I won’t be returning to find out, and wouldn’t recommend to anyone else."
Stracciatella
