Locale (Blackheath)

Went in for their £13.95 mid-week menu offer but ended up having the lamb steak with grilled veg which was excellent. The blond had the seafood linguine which she said was very good. Had a good bottle of Verdicchio white wine. Wasn't keen on the music they were playing, very repetitive but the place looks superb, very romantic and grand. We'll go back.
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Bigfatkev - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Friday, August 08, 2008

I visited the Locale for the first time this evening (Saturday) with my girlfriend, fulfilling the promise we would eat out more often locally in Blackheath.

Blackheath is a wealth of small to medium sized restaurants with authentic cuisine, reasonably priced and situated in pleasant environments. This, however, is not one of them.

We didn’t have a reservation, but friendly staff seemed all too pleased to help find us a table - next to one loud birthday part of about 10 people and with an empty table on the other side. We found out later, as the meal progressed, a drunken party of “eeearh, allwight mate!” ladies were in fact booked on the other side and their prebooked table had been split to accommodate us. As a result they had to sit with 5 people where only 4 places were set. Not a good arrangement for any of us.

The menu itself was limited but mainstream - my girlfriend opted for the lamb, which she said was fairly tasty. I chose the steak. Nether dish came with any vegetables of note with the exception of potato for the steak - however, credit where it’s due, we asked for a side order of spinach as an afterthought and it arrived in seconds. However, this plus was offset by the cost of the mains.

The dessert was functional and fine - a chocolate option and tirasamu for myself. By this time the two parties on either side of us, coupled with the pretentious and crass décor had proven a little too much for us and we asked for the bill.

Amazingly, whilst the “optional surcharge” was being duly added to the statement without asking (I would probably have ignored it on the grounds of the poor seating arrangements), the female waitress started to gesture madly at my hair, indicating there was something in it - she asked my girlfriend to take a look to remove it! Surprisingly, it was a small piece of lint or similar (not the drooling black widow spider it was made out to be). If this was a first date, the attention of the waitress and fussing over my hair would not have gone down well at all.

Overall - annoyingly pretentious décor that has nothing to do with Italy or the food it intends to serve. Annoying staff lacking product knowledge who are more apt at offering me warnings of things in my hair. Annoyingly boozy customers knocking back “one more of the house red please, mate”.

Most annoyingly of all, however, the price. The food was generally OK, but the meal came to one after eight mint short of £70, without starters, alcohol or coffee.

Two closing points - I don’t have eccentric hair with creatures in it and I don’t have a bottomless wallet nor attention span for places of this quality. Poor.
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M.T.R
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Saturday, June 21, 2008

We were a table of 6 at Locale in Blackheath last night and the food was superb. It was reassuring to discover that all the dishes are made from scratch with the authentic Italian touch and not just banged together with generics. It certainly makes a difference! We'll certainly be back soon.

Service was great and the whole atmosphere and ambience made it a wonderful evening. This was enhanced by the excellent wines the manager suggested we try. Thanks to all !
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cathy
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

We were there a couple of nights ago and found it to be fantastic. So glad we didn't take those other reviews into consideration. Mind you, if you give people the space to complain they will!

The service was attentive, the food everything we expected and the wines were yummy.

Well done to all there for a providing a great evening out - we will definitely be back

Jenni
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Jenni B
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

We recently visited Locale and “WOW” would be the first thing to mind. Great authentic Italian food in a classy environment. Not the run down pizza, pasta joint down the road. Good service with the personal touch you would expect from an Italian restaurant. The atmosphere was chilled out, yet still professional and the price not as bad as I had heard. If you want good food, service and atmosphere in a beautiful setting you should give this place a try. We did and we loved it.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

This was by far the worst restaurant I've been to in London.

My starter was completely awful - apparently carmelised onions are the same as chilli peppers these days. I don't mind chillis, but when they're not on the description in the menu, it comes as a bit of a surprise when you're mouth is all of a sudden on fire.

My boyfriend ordered the steak which was tiny. And paid £21.00 for it. The Gaucho Grill comes to mind for better value for money.

My main was okay - frutti de mare with linguini. My glass of wine however was £6.20 and it literally left a bad taste in my mouth.

The waiters also didn't understand (or perhaps listen) to our orders. In the end we had to point at what we wanted.

In the end, the place is really bad value for money, even though the interior is quite nice. In comparison to the rest of Blackheath, this place is worse then the local kebab shop!
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CC
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I m a regular visitor of Locale restaurant at Blackheath they' ve got a fantastic manager there called sharif, previously work at the famous Atlantic Bar and Grill, his staff are well trained and very helpful. food, service is always fabulous.

I would definitely recommend going there . Good value for money too.
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Rekki
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I definitely wouldn't recommend this place. Service poor and food medicocre. I had pasta with crab which was way too fishy, on the border of being off and much overpriced for a pasta dish at around £12.
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Friday, March 07, 2008

we went here for valentines night 2008. this was our third visit to the blackheath locale since they took it over from tony allen. under tony allen's management (loco) this restaurant was fantastic. amazing food and classy but unpretentious surroundings. since locale have taken it over though it was descended into a below average overpriced restaurant. with each visit they seem to be getting a little worse and last night confirmed it has hit rock bottom for us and we won't be going there again.

we were seated about 30 minutes late but can forgive that as they were very busy. we ordered a cocktail each which i'm afraid to say was disgusting! i asked for some more mint, sugar and lime to be added to my mojito to which the very helpful waitress replied 'we'll make you a new one'. great i thought. it came back and tasted even worse. it was as if they'd just added more of the very cheap rum they seemed to be using on that night. can't complain really as the waiter accepted my return of the drink and we moved straight on to the wine. not bad but again as with most restaurants, overpriced. so to the food: my girlfriend had a seafood based starter and seafood main course. i had the carpaccio to start and the fillet steak for main. very mediocre carpaccio and lumpy(!!!!) mash with the steak. my girlfriend seemed to enjoy her food although the portions were very small. i didn't receive any veg with my steak and we weren't presented with an additional menu to order sides. when the bill came it was (including the deposit we paid) £120. at £60 a head i think this is the worst value meal i've ever had. don't mind the price if the food is good but it wasn't. distinctly average with a poor variety on the set menu to choose from.

this was obviously their most lucrative night of the year and it seemed they wanted to maximise their profits by using cheap ingredients in the cocktails and small portions for the food. to be fair the staff were very helpful and efficient so can't complain there but that didn't help the fact their food was sub-standard for the prices they charge.
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adam booker
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Friday, February 15, 2008

An uneasy mix of cocktail-quaffing barflies and diners who might enjoy their conversation more if they could hear one another. Perhaps the answer is not to go Friday or Saturday and ensure you are at the back of the room well away from the bar.

Good food and good wine, both on the pricey side. Service also a mix of the uninformed (not knowing the ingredients of cocktails) and patronising (to anyone who wants a slight change of content in the meal).
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Geoff the Gourmet
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Sunday, February 10, 2008