Metrogusto (Islington)

We had high expectations for this restaurant on our visit last weekend. They were sadly misplaced. The Service was appalingly inept and the Maitre D' obviously didn't know his own menu - it's not as if it is that long. Wines were good but very expensive and food was nothing to write home about. The space is however, very nice indeed with excellently chosen and placed artwork.

It is a great pity really as Islington SHOULD have some good restaurants but they don't seem able to get it right. I do hope this was a blip for Metrogusto but at high end restaurant prices we will not be returning. Paying central london high end prices does not seem to guarantee you a decent meal at a restaurant in N1. I guess this is why the restauarant was less than half full on a weekend evening.
Comment on this reader review

Paul
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Thursday, July 26, 2007

I've been to Metrogusto on a number of occasions over the years, with the most recent being a fortnight ago. I'm afraid to say that I think the standard of the food and the service is going downhill which is a great pity. The staff always seem to be in an absolute blind panic. This is because, when the restaurant is full, there are simply not enough waiting staff to provide a good service to all tables. The food now seems to be just "ok". The portions are far too large and the homemade pasta is incredibly heavy and doughy. It seems that the restaurant now operates a policy of quantity over quality which is always a mistake. And I agree that the strange mixes of ingredients are often more of a miss than a hit. It's a shame but I won't be going back.
Comment on this reader review

Lucy - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Thursday, July 19, 2007

We just love this restaurant, and the owner is always helpful and charming. He is part of the lives of the residents. If you look for a standard unimaginative Italian restaurant, look elsewhere, as the food here is not intended to be conventional. Thank you so much Ambro for looking after us so well and for all your hard work to make our celebration a memorable one.
Comment on this reader review

Tuan and Ted
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, July 06, 2007

Preety poor, strange menu, can't really belive any Italian would serve veal with yoghurt.

Most of the dishes were runined by unnecessary combinations. The best dish was a staright forward mussels with a lovely tomato sauce. The duck was overccoked the vegetables an afterthought.

Very disappointing and expensive. There are lots of Italian restaurants in London that do good, proper Italian food cheaper with a lot more rustic syle.
Comment on this reader review

Adam
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Thursday, June 28, 2007

Disappointing. We went as a group of 8 for a birthday celebration. The food was disappointing (I couldn't actually eat my main course of pasta of the day) on the whole, the service was slow and we were charged a great deal of money for bringing our own birthday cake. Highly unimpressive.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Saturday, April 28, 2007

We have eaten there before and it was great which is why we booked it for New Years Eve. Unfortunatley, when we got there, they had ran out of vodka, bacardi and one of the starters out of the 4 they had on offer.... The service was poor, it seemed that they had got greedy and squeezed in too many tables.
Comment on this reader review

Tracy
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, January 03, 2007

We eat there regularly. The service is wonderful and the food fantastic. We really recommend it for a special night out.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, August 17, 2006

The venue is very cosy and the decor is simple and they have some interesting paintings on the wall.

The wine list is extensive and has some good Italian names which are hard to find in London.

The service is friendly, although I got a different pasta than the one I ordered but it was replaced reasonably quickly.

The menu offers several options, however I got slightly irritated by the fact that pasta consumed as a main course is 4£ more expensive. I don't see the rationale for this, I just think it is a way to try to rip customers off, as you get the same portion and it's no extra cost for them.

This being said the food was very disappointing, especially the combination of different flavours was wrong in my opinion. The buffalo mozzarella salad with courgettes and betroots was served with a very sweet balsamic dressing which almost tasted like sugar. The pasta with clams, courgettes and cherry tomatoes came drawn into lemon juice which completely covered the other flavours.

In addition, the pastas were freshly made, but served too much al dente, to the point that it sticks to your teeth.

A below average restaurant, I would not recommend it.
Comment on this reader review

Cristina
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Thursday, August 03, 2006

After reading the reviews and having consulted the M-Guide, my partner and I also decided to try out Metrogusto. While the service (from booking the table to receiving the bill) was very good (with exception of on of the waiters shuffling the left-overs from one plate to another right in front of us), the food was actually not anywhere close as spectacular as expected. All in all it was a good evening, but with all the choice London has on offer, I probabl wouldn't go back there again.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Thursday, December 15, 2005

after reading excellent reviews for this restaurant i booked a table for two on my partner's birthday as a special treat. the service was polite and attentive and the atmosphere very relaxed. unfortunately we didn't the think the food was particularly good. our starters [a pear,cheese and rocket salad] were certainly tasty but nothing any other restaurant could not have produced equally well. our main courses [steak and wild boar respectively] were very disappointing. no better than average portions of ordniary 'bistro' food. again we expected something that little bit special but were let down. it all tasted fine but for the prices charged one would really expect something better. a simple affogato dessert rounded off a rather underwhelming dining experience. all for £95. not so special after all.
Comment on this reader review

antony simpson
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Monday, December 12, 2005