Franco's Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The lobster pasta was out of this world and is surely the best in London."
• "The truffle flavour was very evident, the pasta had great texture, and the whole dish was very well seasoned."
• "Steak with the foie gras, crispy bread and spinach was one of the most unique and best steaks I’ve ever had."
• "Their fresh pastas are truly delicious and the menu is updated regularly to make best use of seasonally available ingredients."
• "The vitello tonnato was spectacular."
• "Food was delicious traditional Italian food with highly quality fresh products and everything was homemade."
• "Homemade pasta dishes are succulent and the seafood dishes were excellent."

Cons:

• "The starters were lackluster and uninspired, with flavors that were completely underwhelming."
• "The meats were overcooked and dry, and the accompanying sides were tasteless and poorly seasoned."
• "Possibly the worst risotto I have ever had."
• "The pasta was over cooked and the staff isn't friendly at all."
• "The Lamb dish on the specials board came with super heated veg that contained a large amount of water, which diluted the sauce."
• "The lasagne was not freshly cooked but reheated with extra cheese."
• "Food is distinctly average and over priced (£46 for over cooked sea bass!)."

Service

Pros:

• "A very romantic dining room with some utterly excellent dishes on offer."
• "The wait staff was extremely friendly and accommodating."
• "Staff were polite and helpful."
• "A fantastic restaurant with great service."
• "The waiters are attentive."
• "Excellent reception and serving staff, good service, good value food."
• "Service was impeccable. Delicious whiskey sours and Italian wine too."

Cons:

• "The staff were packing tables and chairs away around us at 10.30pm on a Saturday night, clearly wanting to close up and go home."
• "Awful, awful service, the worst I've ever experienced."
• "Some of the staff have a surly attitude."
• "Rude restaurant manager who could not be bothered to even speak to us."
• "The staff seemed disinterested and inattentive."
• "Service was entertainingly bad."
• "The waiter forgot my wine order twice."

Ambience

Pros:

• "Traditional Italian restaurant in the heart of St James."
• "Elegant and authentic Italian restaurant located on St Jermyn Street."
• "Beautiful atmosphere and in particular I appreciate that some of the waiters are actually Italian, so you can speak the language."
• "The restaurant has a warm vibe, it feels like you are sitting in cafe but the surroundings are classy."
• "High quality food, good service, conveniently located in Jermyn St, parallel to Piccadilly."
• "Tucked away in Jermyn Street, and quality Italian restaurant."
• "Great Classic high end Italian restaurant."

Cons:

• "An old favourite, but perhaps trying to cash in by squeezing in a few too many tables making it very noisy at peak times."
• "It was noisy and canteen-like which wasn’t what I was expecting."
• "Very comfortable seating in good ambience even if tables a little close."
• "The tables were packed quite closely together and it was a bit loud."
• "The decor was outdated, and the lighting was so dim that it felt like dining in a cave."
• "It’s quite crowded with slightly small chairs to fit them all in and there’s a couple of tables in the middle that have people brushing past them, so don’t get one of those."
• "The waiter was not interest the food was dry they didn’t even cut the pizza the food didn’t all arrive together the lemonade wasn’t fizzy at all it was just only lemon flavoured water."

Value

Pros:

• "Food and wine reasonably priced, and it was very delicious."
• "Best bet here is to try something new, something you wouldn't normally go for because most everything is cooked to perfection."
• "Not crazy prices, highly recommended."
• "Food and wine is always great. Great value for money."
• "Amazing pizza and really good customer service, the staff is very friendly and helpful, not expensive at all for the quality of what you get."
• "The deserts were as good as the rest of the food and the wine list was very fairly priced."
• "Delicious & fresh Italian cuisines, amongst my all time favourite Italian restaurants."

Cons:

• "Not sky high prices but overpriced for what we got."
• "£800 for 5 without drinks, so brace yourself there."
• "You pay more than 20 pounds for eggs and juice. A slide of toast (literally) has a £3 price tag."
• "Overpriced for very average could cook at home type food."
• "Prices are expensive, which you expect for this type of restaurant in its location."
• "Overpriced, bread basket is joke."
• "Very expensive for very little. They got the wrong order and left me with a piece of meat and a lemon for mains."

Staff Attitude

Pros:

• "Just as I remember it, a fine restaurant, well run, professionally staffed, and with a great kitchen."
• "Beautiful atmosphere and in particular I appreciate that some of the waiters are actually Italian, so you can speak the language."
• "The wait staff was extremely friendly and accommodating."
• "Staff were polite and helpful."
• "The waiters are attentive."
• "Excellent reception and serving staff, good service, good value food."
• "Incredibly helpful and friendly staff."

Cons:

• "The staff were packing tables and chairs away around us at 10.30pm on a Saturday night, clearly wanting to close up and go home."
• "Awful, awful service, the worst I've ever experienced."
• "Some of the staff have a surly attitude."
• "Rude restaurant manager who could not be bothered to even speak to us."
• "The staff seemed disinterested and inattentive."
• "Service was entertainingly bad."
• "The waiter forgot my wine order twice."