Orso

From the moment we came in we felt welcome and the atmosphere was warm and friendly. Justin served our table and really looked after us. He was helpful, friendly and really added to our evening. He even organised our taxi at the end of the meal.

In short the service was excellent. And then to top off the evening, the food was perfect. We all felt that the flavours were wonderful, perfectly cooked.
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Chris Greenwood
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Sunday, May 04, 2008

quite disappointing. the sea bass was clearly frozen, and no amount of cooking or flavoring could remove that taste. the pear gorgonzola salad was passable, but the pear was well before ripe, i finally found the walnut, and the gorgonzola. the asparagus was MUSH - no flavor and completely overcooked - maybe even canned. the staff was ok, but this being in the theatre district, i could think of many other restaurants in London where i would rather go, especially since we weren't going to the theatre.
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beppo
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Sunday, March 16, 2008

My husband and I popped into Orso for a post theatre dinner. I hadn't been here for a number of years and had remembered it to be a really special place. We were greeted in such a welcoming manner and despite being the last to be seated for dinner on a busy Saturday night we never felt rushed.

I started with the fish soup which was fantastic and my husband had the bresola. I followed with Turkey meatballs and my husband had kidneys both cooked to perfection. The staff are fantastically helpful and the ambience is second to none I simply love this buzzy place!!

Can't wait to go back.
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Chloe Hutton-Malik
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

It's interesting to see such mixed reviews here. We went to Orso for a late dinner this week and found it to be really excellent. I used to bring business clients here for lunch some years ago, as it was one of the few decent restaurants in the area, but I wasn't sure it would have maintained its quality. The menu provides a great selection of dishes, and in true Italian style, you can have 3 (or 4) courses, so we went for it. The salad antipasti were excellent, all good fresh stuff, and the pumpkin pasta was splendidly light and tasty. We had duck with white beans and venison with mash, both dishes really well done. Oh, and I didn't even mention the best Bellini I've had in an age. I'd be more than happy to come back here again, Covent Garden isn't noted for the quality of its eateries, but this place really does stand out. Judging by last night it looks like they do plenty of post-theatre trade too, for which it would be ideal.
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Bippy
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Saturday, November 03, 2007

Really surprised to see bad reviews of this place; I enjoyed an excellent meal there last night.

The menu is worryingly large - it's hard to believe that they can keep all of this food fresh and ready to go. Sure enough, my main wasn't available - luckily there was lots that looked good to choose from.

Ended up with some lightly grilled squid, served warm with a spicy tomato dressing, followed by a criply roasted duck leg with white beans. Both of these were delicious - the squid was tender, tasty and a very generous portion. The duck was rustic and hearty - it was exactly as I imagine traditional Italian cooking would taste.

It was a pricy meal, but I think the quality of the food justified the price. I'd certainly return. The ambience of the restaurant was fine - maybe a little dark. Service was curt but efficient. And a thing of mine - they didn't add service charge to the bill: how polite of them.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, October 23, 2007

What a disappointment even though forewarned by the many mixed reviews. I found the basement only dingy, not "buzzy", the wait staff overbearing (asking if you want refills before you've finished your drink) and the food so mediocre it was depressing. Although assured the asparagus would be fresh, it wasn't (you can tell when you cut fresh grilled asparagus, it should cut cleanly, this cut like canned asparagus -- e.g. pulled apart longitudinally and only with force) and if it hadn't been for the balsamic vinegar, would have been totally tasteless. The risotto with artichokes and mushrooms had a tomato base (! ugh) and wasn't properly cooked so had a slight crunch to the grains.

I'm also very suspect of restaurants where you order wine by the glass and they bring you a filled glass from the bar rather than showing you the bottle and pouring at the table. Orso's did the former and I don't believe either wine I ordered was what I got (I ordered a good white and a good red and both tasted like "house pour").

This may have been a good restaurant once upon a time but I shall never learn whether it has mended its ways or not as I don't plan to return.
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Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Thursday, August 16, 2007

Just had dinner here before going to the theatre and it was great. I looked at some reviews beforehand and they were rather mixed, however, I thought it was great. I had asparagus to start which was lovely and linguine as a main course which was perfect with a great kick from the chilli. The service was quick and friendly, the toilets were clean and fresh and the atmosphere was relaxed and included couples, groups and families.
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Emma - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, June 16, 2007

I went here on my birthday with a group of 6.

2 of the peeps coming were like 1.5 hour late so we drunk about 3-4 jugs of wine here. the staff had no problem with us waiting and keep the table. It was quite busy being in the heart of theatre land. The restaurant is down in the basement. Its quite large lots of tables, lots of people in there. I liked it though. nice lighting, good vibe, quite noisey. Not a place I would go for a quiet meal though.

We ordered some breads to keep us going while waiting. These were like thing and crispy breads, one was garlic bread and it was humming badly when it came to the table and it tasted particulary vile. Like so overpoweringly stale ransid garlic. The other one was rosemary based and was better, if not extremly salty and dry. But hey its just bread.

For starter I had the calamari. This was embarassingly overcooked to the point of being shrivelled and very dark brown. If I hadnt drunk so much wine I would have complained but it didnt seem to bother me at the time. AKA it was edible, just!

For mains I had the steak. It was chewy. But edible, again just.

The food in here was actually very low quality. Prolly not much better than angus steak house. However I liked the staff. I was drunk so didnt care to much about the food. And had a good night. So this restaurent is ok if you want to eat average (some would probably argue poor) quality food, priced according to the location and general good state of the restaurant.

So when reading reviews here anyone who says the food is fantastic, is clueless, but anyone who says they liked it and might go there again if they stumbled upon it, well it gives me a wry smile and I have to say I prolly agree.
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delboy
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Thursday, April 19, 2007

Had the pre-theatre dinner menu here last week. The food was excellent, service snappy, and the price extremely reasonable. There was a great buzz, even at 6pm. The a la carte menu is very long so it may be better to settle for the fixed price menus if they are available when you dine.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Just visited for the first (and last time) 16/12. I had veal & parmasan meatball in a tomato sauce - the most insipid meal I have ever eaten, the sauce was weak and watery. My partner ordered boiled beef and was served steak and, although this was changed without question, I had finished my meal by the time hers had arrived. With wine the meal came to £100 for two - there are much better restaurants in London charging the same amount or less; my advice is go and find them!
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Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Sunday, December 17, 2006