Address: 6 Southwark St, London, SE1 1TQ, United Kingdom
Rating: 4.5
based on 761 reviews.
Food Quality
Pros:
"Freshly made pasta, we had the slow cooked ragu with papardelle and the crab with lemon and garlic."
"Each dish was prepared with such care and attention to detail, resulting in a culinary experience that exceeded my expectations."
"Handmade pasta with delicious sauces in a nice restaurant."
"The food was delicious and flavorful."
"The fresh pasta is the best I have ever eaten. I would rate this as best Italian meal ever eaten."
"The pasta itself was exceptionally good and was cooked to perfection."
"Very delicious pasta. Depending on the dish you order, some are smaller than others."
Cons:
"Been here a few times and the food used to be spectacularly good. As of late, the pastas have become a tad too salty for my liking."
"However the portion sizes were small so I didn’t feel full after the meal."
"I think the menu is not great. Quite rude brusque service."
"The dried chilli and garlic one had nice flavours, but it was overwhelmingly oily to the point you couldn’t take more than a bite."
"Ordered a beef and crayfish pastas that tasted really bland and had no flavour, can barely find traces of lobster in it."
"The particular dish that wasn’t as good as it could’ve been was the Pappardelle with 8 hours Dexter beef shin ragu and the Tiramisu."
"However, I ordered the crab pasta, and it was really lacking flavor and presentation."
Service
Pros:
"Service was prompt and attentive."
"Very accommodating for our large group."
"Service was quick and good too."
"Service was friendly and quick."
"The service was amazing."
"Service was also great - friendly, attentive and helpful."
"Service was very attentive. Dylan was very alert and took care to ensure we had a great meal."
Cons:
"Service was a bit hit & miss, water only poured in one of two glasses, orders being asked for twice."
"Padella is more about turnover than customer service."
"Unfortunately we experienced poor service here (lady server wearing a stussy hoodie at around 3pm 6 dec) who was rude and dismissive to our group when we asked if our table was ready."
"Service was a bit inattentive, and it was a bit crowded and noisy."
"A couple of the staff seemed annoyed at a very small request."
"The service was ok. The waitress was attentive but also kept on selling more items on the menu after I ordered."
"When I asked the waitress to check if our dishes were on its way, I received a very sour attitude and frown blaming my impatience."
Ambiance
Pros:
"Padella is a delightful spot with a cozy atmosphere and a menu that hits all the right notes."
"Located right next to the Shard and borough market, Padella is in a central location to enjoy some affordable Italian comfort food!"
"Its casual setting features a small, personal space highlighted by an open kitchen visible behind the counter, all adorned with an industrial decor."
"Love to sit at the counter and watch the chefs work."
"Lovely atmosphere here, there's something very lively and buzzy even though it's a very small and tight space area."
"The place has a nice vibe and cozy atmosphere."
"When you enter the restaurant it is incredibly lively."
Cons:
"The seating a quite cramped and the atmosphere is a little humid."
"This killed whatever atmosphere it could have had."
"Can't help but be disappointed mainly due to the cramped dining room and small portion."
"I was seated at a counter stool, in a corner, facing a wall."
"Basic decor and ambience. Casual place. Tight and crumby."
"Didn't feel cozy, it was so busy and cramped."
"The place itself is really small and packed."
Value
Pros:
"Also, the food was incredible (congratulations to the chefs) and for reasonable price."
"Most items are below £10."
"Great value for money too that’s why there’s always a queue outside!"
"Very very affordable for good quality food."
"The price for the food you get is very good."
"Everything is great, and prices are very reasonable."
"Price was also very decent."
Cons:
"Wine list limited and expensive and you can’t even buy a full bottle of wine."
"The wine sizes are ridiculously small for a 'bottle' 500ml at the price charged was an absolute joke especially since it’s tap wine."
"Not good at all. Small tiny portions. Rude waiters and waitresses. Scowling faces and just not good food for such stupidly high prices."
"Overall £23 feels a bit pricey for what you get and the experience."
"However, £74 for a quick lunch for 2 people, I would definitely will go to another place with a lunch set menu."
"The only disappointing thing was the tiny can of soft drink, way smaller than the average can and at almost the same price of one of the exquisite dishes."
"The only thing we didn't like was the charge of a 12.5% service fee in the bill without asking first."
Queue/Reservation System
Pros:
"You can reserve your spot online so when you wait you don’t actually have to be there waiting in a line."
"The queuing was not too bad in a sunny Saturday morning."
"Virtual queue was seamless."
"They have a great online queueing system, which helps to alleviate the long lineups."
"Definitely use walk up to reserve a time slot. Then get a drink at one of the bars around borough market while waiting."
"If there’s a line to get in, which is likely, it moves fairly quickly and is undoubtedly worth the wait."
"They offer a convenient QR code system for making reservations."
Cons:
"The only downside is that you need to virtual queue via their app or the QR code at the restaurant which can be quite cumbersome."
"Getting a table here is quite difficult as it's a small place."
"Did not get to try the place ultimately as after making an hour long trip and being told that they have closed the virtual queue."
"Be prepared to wait for you queue which can be up to 90minutes or more."
"Heard some waits can get up to 2.5h."
"However overall trip spoiled by 2.5 hour wait for a 'table'."
"Overall not worth the hype. Or wait time, which can get ridicules. We waited over 2 hours for our table."