Cantina Italia

Cantina Italia is just the top of Italy in London.

Please just try and trust me,its worth it to the penny,food,wine,price and fun too, are simply the best.
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Gigi Tonca
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, January 09, 2007

PLEASE IGNORE THE COMMENT MADE BY 'EILEEN' IT WAS SIMPLY A MISTAKE WITH OUR MACHINES ON THE NIGHT,

WE HAD NOT EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM BEFORE AND WE ARE SINCERLEY SORRY

REGARDS

CANTINA ITALIA
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Cantina Italia
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, December 15, 2006

great meal and good athmosphere
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bonni
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Sunday, December 03, 2006

I have been here twice. The first with a friend, the 2nd time, last night with my parents. On both occassions I had quite a nice meal (albeit quite salty!), however it quickly soured when I was there the 2nd time. When it came to getting the bill. My father had to ask 3 times for the bill before it arrived, in fairly illegiable handwriting. The man, who I presume to be the owner, took the credit card away from the table and my father quickly followed. The total bill was £78 however the machine read £106!!!! The second time the card was entered my father saw that he was being charged £78 for the meal and gratuity of £28. When questioned the owner said that this was their tip......Don't think so! And when my dad refused to pay that much the owner said....(wait for it!!)

"Well how much DO you want to leave?" Needless to say we didn't leave any tip. We were almost being charged 33% of the bill as a tip without being consulted. What a dissappointment!
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Eileen - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Sunday, December 03, 2006

I have been to this restuarant twice. Both times food was amazing. The second time I went to Cantina Italia was with my parents-we were having a fantastic evening until the bill came. Here comes the nightmare part: Three times my father had to ask for the bill. When it finally arrived, it was illegiably handwritten. The waiter, I presume to be either head waiter/owner took the credit card away. My dad followed him and put his card in the machine-the total should have been £78 but was made out for £106!!!!! Try again! Same thing happened Bill for £78, graduity £28. No way were we paying that! My father asked what it was and he said "Our tip Sir!"!!!!! Don't think so!Owner asks "Well, how much DO you want to pay then?" How cheeky! I will not be here again. It worked out that he was trying to take approx 33% tip!!!!!
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Eileen
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Sunday, December 03, 2006

Great food, real pizza, and lovely staff!

top marks!

oh, and reasonably priced too.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, December 01, 2006

Very nice food, good friendly service - would definitely go back. Only slight minus point was that the house wine wasn't the greatest. A good 8/10 all round.
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Aaron
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, July 11, 2006

My wife and I needed to find a place to eat near upper street as we were going to see a band in a local pub on a Thursday - I found Cantina Italia on this website and booked it. It took me a while to get through - perhaps they arent open during the day.

The things i wanted from the meal was that it should be affordable, authentic good food and be able to have a quick meal in a friendly atmosphere. It ticked all the boxes.

The decor is modern and staff friendly. The menu has a varied selection of the usuals but the thing which stood out for me was that it was an absolutely superb meal. I had for starters baked aubergine with mozzerrella and a tomato and garlic sauce - for mains an authentic Italian pizza.

My wife had similar. The price didnt break the wallet and the food was authentic.

Would recommend
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Breedy - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Friday, June 02, 2006

I love this place, the nearest restaurant to my front door.

The staples - the pizza and pasta - are really reliable and the seafood is always excellent.

I particularly rate the grilled seafood platter which is excellent value.

The service is very friendly if at times strained to keep pace. In the three visits we have made in the past fortnight, the bill has never been right - to our advantage on all occassions and once our credit card was returned unbilled. Of course, we came clean. We do not want our special local Italian to go bankrupt!
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Gemstone
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Monday, April 10, 2006

This is another of those hidden gems in Canonbury, because its off the main Upper Street strip and isnt immediately pre-possessing from the outside. The decor and ambience are only fine, not wonderful, but the food is simply terrific quality IMO, especially the pasta dishes such as gnochettini sardi and the spaghetti langoustine. Its one of the best mid-range Italian restaurants I've been to, and the best way to sum it up other than to say that the food is quality, is that it is genuinely individual. It is not a cookie-cutter pizza place like Porchetta on Upper St - the food has its own character.
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Declan James
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, January 20, 2006