Bertorelli's Cafe Italian

Lovely restuarant, great atmosphere but the food and service is awful. We went there on Saturday night to celebrate a friend's birthday. The waiter brought out our main meal while we were still eating our starter. Despite saying we were still eating, he kept asking for us to accept the dishes. We refused and asked for our food to be kept warm. After a wait of 45 minutes we asked where our food was. After a long delay the waiter informed us that our food had been thrown away and had to be recooked. Unfortunately, as my friend had ordered the last cannelloni, she had to make another selection. When the food finally came it was extremely disappointing. I had spaghetti marinara which had a couple of mussels and some clams shells (minus clams) and very little else. They still had the cheek to add on a huge service charge and a cover charge of £6. I've never written a review before but I really feel as though we were swindled in this place.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Sunday, February 03, 2008

I have taken clients and friends to, and been a guest at , Bertorellis in Mincing Lane on 5 seperate occasions in the last couple of years approx. The food is nice but the service is appallingly slow. Great if you're making an aftenoon of it but hopeless if you want to turn things around within 2 hrs. Every time I have been there I have had to devote time to trying to catch the waiting staffs' eye whether it be for next course orders/ more wine/ the bill etc. When prompted the reaction was less than apologetic and verged on surly. For all this I had to pay a £20 service charge last time around. Had I not been in front of clients I would have kicked up a fuss. Although it's lovely and convenient for the City I'm afraid I'd have to recommend giving it a miss.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Friday, October 26, 2007

Went in last saturday (06/10/07) to treat my girlfriend to a decent meal, what we ended up with was far from decent! We were seated promptly and drinks orders were taken quickly, however we had to wait 25 mins for our wine to appear (after having to catch someones attention to remind them of it).

We ordered our starter and main within about 10 mins which was fine, if a little too speedy. The only vegetarian main was off (for my girlfriend) so the waiter offered the rissotto of the day, which he then had too go and ask what it was, it turned out to be Dolce Late with radichio(?). We then waited about 30 mins for our starter and then a further 40mins for our mains, to be fair, when someone who appeared to be a manager realised we were still waiting, he offered us another 1/2 bottle of wine which he readily accepted!

What i couldnt understand was why we had to wait so long, we sat down at 9.15pm by which the main rush seemed to be over and most people were on their deserts, furthermore, other people who were seated after us received their starters and mains before we got our mains!

Anyway, being a reasonable chap, all of this could have been forgiven and be put down to them having an off night and maybe there being a mix-up with our order (it happens), however when our mains did turn up we were both so utterly dissatisfied with them I felt compelled to write this review and an accompanying letter to the restaurant itself. I ordered meatballs made to "mama's" secret recipe, apparently, although I can only imagine the recipe is a mystery to anyone who works in the kitchen given the sub-sainsburys pre-packaged dry nature of the meat pellets that arrived on my plate and the tinned spaghetti in a sugary tomato sauce that I would be ashamed to feed to my godson. As for the rissotto, whose consistency more closely resembled that of an unsuccessful rice pudding with a resoundingly nothingy flavour, didnt appear to bear any relation to what the waiter had advised us of. Oh and as for the 12,5% service charge, words fail me......
Comment on this reader review

Phil
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 0
Monday, October 08, 2007

My girlfriend and I thought we would pop in for some food on a Friday night to try out a new restaurant. We opted for the 'fine dining' experience of the proper restaurant upstairs.

The waiters were inattentive, but I've experienced worse, particularly considering that there was about 1 waiter per 2 tables. The atmosphere was staid and simple things like the tables being too small annoyed us. I asked for a bottle of wine from the wine list, a barolo, and was informed that they did not have any. Poor. I then asked the waiter for a recommendation, which he duely provided. I wish I hadn't it was awful. Surely if you only have 10 or so red wines on your wine list you ensure that they are all good - can't be that difficult to fine a nice bottle for £25.

The food: well I have to say that this was variable. To start I had a starter portion of pasta which was actually quite tasty and well cooked. My girlfriend had the risotto of the day (seasonal vegatables) which was obviously reheated in the microwave and just bland. Really bland. For main I had the Bertorelli signature dish of Lamb with fennel, olive and salsa which again was quite tasty but the lamb was a little overcooked - not bad though. My girlfriend again got the rough end of the stick: a corn-fed Chicken with asparagus, peppers and oregano salsa (i.e. some dried oregano sprinkled over the chicken - obviously some sort of joke). Again this was just a bland bit of chicken with a couple of bits of asparagus drapped over the top looking decidely sorry for themselves - not exactly 'fine dining'

All in all overpriced, decidely average service and no consistency in the quality of the food. My advice: don't bother.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Came here recently one sunny Friday for lunch with work colleagues and thoroughly enjoyed it. Service was very friendly and swift. I had home-made Italian sausage and mash, with a rocket salad. The sausage was a little gristly but very tasty, with a yummy sauce. A very satisfying meal, and good value (especially compared to their outlet in Soho where I find the portions just too small).

Our table was inside the restaurant, but the doors fold away so we had all the benefits of sitting on the pavement, without the hassle. One final thing I must say is that the chairs were refreshingly comfortable for restaurant furniture. Would definitely come back here again.
Comment on this reader review

zimboholly
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Thursday, August 16, 2007

Starters were good. Waited an age for mains. When they arrived none of the side orders arived and the steak was cold. Sent the steak and the salmon main back. The steak had been reheated and was now far from rare and the salmon had been kept hot. Nothing sincere about the apology and we were offered a paltry 10% off the bill which didn't cover the cost fo the steak let alone the hassle. Eventually they dropped the cost of the steak fromt he bill. London is a big city with lots of restaurants - don't take a chance on this place. I will not be going back.
Comment on this reader review

Phil
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

I'd never been to Bertorelli's before - I usually dive down to the bar at Café des Amis du Vin just round the corner. Wish I had taken my five friends there on Friday night. Instead, we ate at Bertorelli's and it was deeply disappointing. The waiter appeared to be inexperienced and was just pathetic. The food was dire - especially the vegetarian food, which was just salt salt salt. I had Tuscan soup to start with and it was patchily luke-warm and cold and tasted of nothing but salt. I sent it back. My main course was some kind of cheesy pasta, which again was nothing but salt and very unpleasant cheese. Oh, and about three strips of soggy carrot. My husband had mushroom risotto - again, nothing but salt. It really was as if we got the dregs of the kitchen and as if the restaurant just couldn't care a less about any of us. Nor could the waiters I hope it stops riding on its reputation soon. It was a shame of an evening.
Comment on this reader review

Liz
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Monday, March 12, 2007

I have to say I have eaten here before and had a perfect meal and enjoyed excellent service. Boy has that changed in the space of a few years. I recently visited whilst shopping in London on a Sat. Only 2 of us, we decided to eat somewhere a bit fancy rather than an average Pizza Hut or Pizza Express. WISH I HAD STUCK TO WHAT I KNOW!!! This place is supposed to be 'the best Italian' in London. Who said that? It's awful. The service is shocking, not one person smiled at me. We waited 40 mins for our food, in all we were there 2 and a half hours, for lunch! The food was cold, bland, pre heated rubbish. I wouldn't eat there again if it was free!
Comment on this reader review

Rowan Cammarano
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Monday, January 15, 2007

I don't know if I was lucky, but I had a fabulous experience there.

I went to Bertorelli's at 7pm on a Friday night, not having booked. We were seated immediately, and the waitress asked if we had to be out by a certain time to catch a theatre show (we did not).

The place was packed and we were worried the service would be slow, but it was incredibly fast (we waited literally less than 5 mins for our food after ordering), and the waiter was very nice (bringing us tap water when we asked, which some places frown upon, and splitting a pudding on two plates between the two of us). I had penne arrabitata, which was perfectly good, not spectacular, but perfectly fine. The pasta was good juct right, and there was a nice amount of sauce, which was very spicy, but not too blow your head off spicy. My partner had quatro formaggio pizza, which was again fine, a little chargrilled tasting, which I liked. The portions were very large.

For pudding we shared a chocolate and raspberry tart which was amazing, and beautifully presented.

I was not asked to add a tip to the bill; when I was presented with the chip and pin thing, all it said was "enter pin"; there was no space to enter a tip.

The price came to $26 for two main dishes, one pudding, and two soft drinks (that's not including the water, obviously) which is average -- about what you'd pay in a Pizza Express or any other chain pizza/pasta restaurant.

The only criticism I have is that the place was very crowded and the (pretty small) tables were very close together. This would not be a great place for an intimate, romantic meal.

In general I had a great time, and would recommend.
Comment on this reader review

Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, January 09, 2007

We had a very dissappointing experience. The food was indifferent, and worse, it was lukewarm. One of our party returned her meal which took 20 minutes to be returned to her. Whilst waiting she asked politely how long it would take. The female manager was rude and aggressive. "I don't do the cooking so I don't know", was her verbatum unsympathetic reply. I wrote to complain anf 4 weeks later have not had a reply. Not a place to return to.
Comment on this reader review

John Butler - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Thursday, October 05, 2006