Bar Trattoria Semplice

Been there tonight for a quick business dinner. A nice welcome with unexpected (not on the bill as well) aubergines filled with organic Sardinia ricotta.

Main: tuna with burrata cheese on top and selection of grilled veg and on a side tuna burrata and courgettes filled ravioli pasta. Meravigliosi!!!

2 pint of the rare Menabrera beer (they been very proud of this) and the stunning Giamaica coffe that kindly the barista did twice for me because I like it very short, the perfect 7 seconds espresso.

Will go back for sure for a business lunch but as well for an aperitif italian style.

Stayed there more than expected and just before we were leaving the chef said hello to us offering some little slices of a marvellous italian Cantalupe Melon and anguria-watermelon.

Whhhowww I really felt at home! Bravi ragazzi, mi rivedrete presto!
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- View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Thursday, August 25, 2011

Yesterday a friend and I enjoyed a meal at Bar Trattoria Semplice. We especially enjoyed the shared starter and the Tiramisu. I thought the food, presentation and service was excellent. My friend said it was one of the best Italian meals she had eaten in London. We have just booked my husbands birthday party in the private room in Feb. I can't recommend this restaurant enough.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, January 13, 2011

At first, this seemed like any other run-of-the-mill Itallian place, though slightly pricier than most - we figured it would probably be OK ... and they had tables available on a busy night when everywhere else seemed full. So we stopped there. Big mistake.

Don't go to Semplice, just don't go - the toilets are simply dangerous and the management are careless about this safety and hygiene problem.

The lights in their loos are on a motion sensor, but there's no motion sensor in the toilet cubicles, so when the lights go out they leave you in the dark. And it's 100% pitch blackness - in other buildings there's a sort of "night light" so you can at least see something - not here. Total darkness in a place you don't know. Terrifying.

And nobody came when I called for help. So I ended up having to feel my way out by hand - not exactly hygienic in a public toilet. Disgusting.

Then I told the management about the problem, first the manager of Semplice Trattoria itself, then I tried the more senior manager at their Ristorante next door . They laughed and smirked and told me they had better things to do than hear my complaint. It became clear they know all about the problem and simply don't care. "You were in there too long - it's your fault." Ha ha, not funny, and no way to treat a terrified customer.

I left terrified, disgusted, and now furious. The managers' complete lack of concern about customer safety or hygiene was truly alarming. What other unsafe practices does he simply ignore? Don't take the risk - just don't go to Semplice. Choose one of the many nearby places instead - there are lots of safer places with better service in Saint Christopher's Place and around that area in general.
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LaurieS - View all reviews by this user
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Having been previously for dinner at their Michelin starred Ristorante, I really wanted to try the 'cheaper' Trattoria. While the ristorante is a great experience, the trattoria was somewhat a disappointment.

The decor is nice, but fairly bland, somewhere between a trendy, funky modern restaurant and a pasta chain. Our table was very wobbly and had to be manually stopped.

The wine list has quite expensive wines - we had a caraffe of rose which came at 15£, was not cold enough nor particularly good. You get no bread with the food, which is a huge miss especially in an italian restaurant. We shared a grilled scamorza starter with grilled vegetables. Nice, but minimal at £8. For mains we had spinach and cheese gnocchi (me) and mushrooms veal with mash potato. The veal was quite average and the gnocchi were very nice, but given what they are made of, exaggeratedly priced at £11.50. We had no dessert, no coffee, and coffed up £60. For this amount, there are plenty of better italian restaurants to go to!
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Fried Egg Fred
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Our old favourite "IL Pizziollo" was full for lunch today but then I noticed the old O'Neills on Blenheim st had been convereted into a trattoria. It was an offshoot of "Semplice" which is meant to be good so my lovely wife and I decided to give it go.

We were warmly greeted on entering and shown to a table at the back of the restaurant. The menu was quite limited and unforunatly we weren't shown the specials board but we both fancied the linguine bolognese. We were offered some bread and oil but this was a touch stale so my wife had a bit of a coughing fit after she swallowed some. The food came out piping hot and was pretty good. It tasted very fresh though I do prefer the one my wife makes. I finished off the meal with an expresso which was very strong and bitter but my wife did like her fresh mint tea.

All in all fairly average, nice room, pretty good service but I did feel it lacked a bit of wow. Interesting that the more homely "Il Pizzaolio" was full whilst this was half empty. Would probably pop back but I think there are other places to try around there.
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david ginsberg - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Visited twice, maybe six months apart. The first time was much better than the second in our view from a food quality perspective, and we found it quite expensive for the quality offered on the second visit.
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David Henderson - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Friday, July 17, 2009