La Cucina Di Soteri

Probably one of the worst restaurants we've eaten in. We've been to Greenwich many times and have never been here so decided to give it a go...

I stupidly ordered seafood and have been paying for it ever since. My partner ordered a Pizza which was made with cheap cheddar cheese and almost an entire tin of tomatoes poured over it (soggy beyond belief!) The waitress was nice enough but the waiter was on a different planet! There were only two tables there including ourselves and the waiter offered us desserts straight after our main course! This wasn't a big criticism but it proved how uninterested the staff are... I guessed he was new.

The staff hover around, watching and waiting for you to finish so they can swoop in and take your plate.

The manager sat at the bar on a laptop the entire time and made no effort to acknoledge staff on cutomers (he was also dressed like a vagrant!) I believe if you are going to sit in your own restaurant, at least have the common courtesy to say hello to your diners.

Downstairs where the toilets are located, is a big open storage area that had a tumble dryer and several boxes of bottle water just waiting to be tripped over! The toilets were dirty and a weird smell hung in the air.

We really should have known what it was going to be like by the 3 kitchen staff who couldn't have been more different if they tried! It wasn't genuine cooking nor any attempt at being genuine!

Avoid this place like the plague!
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Trevor Smith
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Thursday, June 30, 2011

Was drawn into this restaurant today by the cheap lunch menu and we were in a rush but had never really liked the look of it before -seemed tourist trap.

Waitress served warm coke, didn't bring any parmesan or pepper or dressing - we had to ask. She puffed and tutted and rolled her eyes when we politely asked. Bread was stale. We were not asked at any stage during the meal if everything was ok. The pasta was so overcooked it was like tinned pasta. This is crazy because Italians hate overcooked pasta. Shows how unauthentic this place is. Toilets had a terrible pungent smell. At the end of the meal we had still not been asked how the food was so I told the waitress we had not very satisfied with the food. She was very defensive and snapped "well you didn't say anything when you were eating it" I wasn't trying to get money off just wanted her to tell the chef. The manager was there sitting at the bar but at no stage did he oversee or ask us if everything had been alright. Waitress did not apologise and seeemed very indifferent that we were not happy. Will NEVER go back there again. A total sham. Too many complaints have made them indifferent. Bad management, poor quality of food and waitresses very unprofessional and lazy. Pasta was of dreadful quality too. Sauce was too runny and tasted like out of tin. Please don't make my mistake and waste your money.
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, May 11, 2011

A group from my running club have now been here three or four years and each times received excellent service and quality food - not to mention subsequent successes at the following day's London Marathon!

There was one slight problem this year when what was clearly an honest error led to our booking (for 16 people) going missing. However, on what is always a busy night for people seeking pasta, they managed to accommodate us and after being asked to bare with them during the rush, noticed absolutely no delay in food and drinks arriving.

So in short, credit where it is due and thanks to the way they dealt with our situation, we're likely to return once more.
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8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Thursday, April 21, 2011

We've passed Soteris a number of times and it has always looked and smelled appealing, so we decided we were finally going to give it a try. An enormous disappointment awaited. The drinks (a lemonade and a diet coke) were flat, and when the waiter checked by our table, I sent the coke back, only to be served another flat (!) coke. Later, when confronted with the 'mistake', the waiter offered to take it back and get "another drink, a beer, anything" and I asked for a beer. The beer was served, but was also added to the total bill.

The calzone main meal was clearly made from canned mushrooms and canned tomatoes, and served undercooked (edges still doughy, tomato-ey water seeping out) - it was simply quite rubbish.

At the end of the meal, I took the apparently jovial owner aside and discreetly offered some feedback on the meal. I sought no compensation nor did I refuse to pay service charges or the "complimentary" drink which had mysteriously found its way on to the bill - I just said that it was obvious the drinks were served from big bottles behind the bar and that replacing a flat coke with another was not going to entice locals to come back.

He admitted drinks were served from 1.5L bottles, but claimed to throw away bottles that had gone flat (clearly not). I told him I understood he needed to make money, and perhaps due to his touristy location he didn't rely too much on returning local custom. Instead of accepting the feedback and apologising, he turned aggressively defensive.

My parting words were simply "I'm sorry, mate, I just wanted to give you some feedback so other guests would not have the same experience as us, but since you don't want it, I wish you good luck."

A total tourist trap. Mismanaged. Avoid at all cost. Just around the corner in the same price range are far better PizzaExpress and Cafe Rouge.
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Saturday, May 29, 2010

everything about this place is rubbish except the outside which looks really nice so it draws you in - it looks genuine and warm but it is just a con. When you sit down you cant relax because noise in there just seems to bellow round the room not helped my the staff stomping around and throwing your plates down so your food nearly spills over the side. They bring peoples starters and mains at the same time so some people are left eating when everyone else is finished - the staff are nice enough but their serving is well aggressive and they mutter things under their breath if you ask for water or something - i realise they are busy but it's part of their job to deal with it. The tagliatelle with ham was so watery and tasteless except for the ridiculous salty and thick ham, but it was edible - the spaghetti bolognese was disgusting the mince tasted like it was made from powder - and the minestrone soup was everything italian food shouldn't be, weak and watery, even the coke was flat. I would never normally complain this much about anywhere because i think most places can offer you something positive for 35pound but even after we told our problems to the maitre d after, he was completley unapolegetic and just looking to get us out the door. This is just for tourists robbing them of their money cos they're not at all interested in return custom
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Sunday, May 10, 2009