Il Baretto

Well, there is something wrong with this place.

I know, someone told me, that Zuma has some shares, if not the majority, into this restaurant. So I would expect the same high level they are famous for.

I regret I went to check it out!! Mamma mia what a scam! really it is unbelievable how thing can happen without any real value. And I think that Zuma is playing big part in bringing tons of customers to a place that should be half empty.

Ambience: dull and old

Location: a basement......

Service: just read the other revenues. Nothing bad happened to me, but there is clearly a lack of love towards the customer

Food: here we are. Stupid food I can say, just stupid. Not bad, but nothing worth going to a basement and paying so much money for it. Some good things here and there, for example very nice chocolate toffee, but please don't waste your money.

Wine: overpriced and when there is not special food to drink it with why should you order it?
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Puthan
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Saturday, December 18, 2010

I thought it was excellent for lunch, sounds like it might not be so good for dinner.
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Pottedmeat - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Thursday, December 16, 2010

I was at IL Baretto few days ago for dinner with a friend. I am an Italian with a great knowledge in authentic and good Italian food.

I found IL Baretto an extremely disappointed restaurant for the following reasons: The food is ordinary, way over priced for its quality. The customer service really disappointing.

The worst came when we ordered the wine. My friend and I asked a suggestion for a full bodied red by the glass, and the waiter recommended a Barolo. At the beginning I was pleasantly surprised as not always this wine is sales by the glass.

For this reason, and knowing the wine, considering that a good vintage is NEVER offered by the glass we ordered without consulting the price on the menu. The wine was ok, not really a good Barolo, just pleasant.

We decided to have a couple of more glasses, so we asked to buy the bottle instead and be charged only for the bottle. The Manager agreed upon taking from a new open bottle the previous glasses. When it came the bill we discovered to have been overcharged. The Barolo was £75 and we haven’t been advised or shown the price in the menu, the burrata, very small and not fresh as it supposed was charged £ 12.50, a tiny portion of overcooked zucchini fritti £ 5.95, and the rest of the courses were equally ordinary and overpriced. When we discussed the matter with the Manager, he told us that , desite was their fault not to advice on the wine price, he couldn’t do anything this time, but if we were willing to go back, and mention the incident at the booking, he would have given a discount.

I felt that the food and the customer service of my Country is very misrepresented at Il Baretto. Nothing there is genuine as it should be.
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Raffaella Zoppelletto
3 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0
Sunday, November 28, 2010

Generally the place is over rated and over priced perhaps one reason being that its cousins are Zuma and La Petit Maison. The aubergine and broscetta were very good, the salad was off and grilled vegies old. My organic salmon barely tasted like fish, my friends ordered meatball spagetti and steak both of which they said were good. The desserts we were hoping would change the whole experience but alas both the apple pie and tiramisu were take away standards. So disappointing when you think of the bill. Service was very average and very rushed. The place had enough trendy people to attract more trendy people who like to pay too much for too little.
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5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Monday, August 23, 2010

Possibly the worst Restaurant I have ever been to. We had a reservation for 9:30. Got there on time. the staff is frankly incompetent. At 10:15 we still did not have a table. We were told to wait by the bar, nobody on it to take a drinks order. Guess what, we left the dump at about 10:25! Not once did a member of staff approach us or even think about an apology. London is full of great Restaurants, this is one to be avoided.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, May 07, 2010

Great local Italian eatery - with a lively upstairs wine bar and busy downstairs restaurant which turns out thoroughly enjoyable Italian cuisine.

Definitely worth a visit!
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- View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, January 21, 2010

My partner and I dined at II Baretto on Sunday evening and found that not only did the restaurant have great vibe but also the staff where extremely professional and friendly.

My partner had the Char grilled veal paillard, and I enjoyed the goats cheese, green beans and sun dried tomatoe salad and venison bresaola. Both our meals where cooked to order and thoroughly enjoyable!

Although the restaurant was not completely full it still had a great atmosphere.

I would highly recommend this restaurant and we will most certainly be returning.
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Monday, January 11, 2010

First things first – if you not only appreciate good food for your money but also good service – do not eat at this restaurant. I have never received such offensive, rude patronising service from a manager as I did last night. I pride myself on enjoying good food and good service. So when an offer came to have dinner at Il Baretto on Blandford Street last night – I jumped at the chance. I checked the menu online beforehand and couldn’t wait to sample what they had on offer. Things started off fantastically – the atmosphere was wonderful and the menu looked so appealing that we all struggled to choose just one starter and main course. But the first couple of slip ups started occurring with the service. The waitress – as shy and sweet as she seemed kept forgetting drinks orders, dropping cutlery on members of our party and completely forgot to bring our white wine over from the ice bucket. But the starters came and redeemed the slight lapse in service as they were all delicious.

But the deciding point in the evening came with the main course. I had ordered the sirloin steak with rocket and parmesan and asked for it medium. It turned up and looked delicious – but one bite proved that not only was this dish not medium, it wasn’t even well done, a more apt description would be ‘leather on a plate’. But still, these things happen in a busy kitchen so no grudges held, I merely showed the waitress, pointed out that I had ordered my meat medium and awaited my new, correctly cooked main course as the first attempt was simple inedible (and as it cost £22 – one would expect a lot more). Whilst waiting for the new attempt, the manager came over – one would assume to apologise – but no, to patronise. He came and said to me “you want the next dish medium rare then” implying that I had ordered incorrectly and sent back a medium steak because I wanted something different to what I had ordered. I responded that I was quite happy with it medium but the previous dish was so overcooked it was inedible. He then said it was my fault for taking too long to eat the dish as, as it is served in a hot pan, it carries on cooking until eaten. But surely if you order a medium steak, it should be presented to you medium and the fact that it carries on cooking on the plate should be factored into the cooking time. At a time when most staff would be apologetic he resorted to an accusatory, patronising manner that was both rude and offensive . One very big mark against them.

Twenty five minutes after I sent the first dish back, when all the rest of my party had finished their dishes and started to fall asleep, my dish still hadn’t arrived – bear in mind I was waiting on a medium steak – not a slow cooked meal. It got to the point that I said to my waiter that they should just cancel my dish as I had lost my appetite. But he then turned up with the dish apologising for the delay, I then said to the apologetic waiter that this had got ridiculous how long I had had to wait – he whimpered off. Then 30 seconds later – the same manager from before marched up to our table, saying “she said what” out loud as he stomped towards me. I responded saying this was ridiculous how long I had waited. He said they were busy and it is standard to wait twenty minutes for a main course – that may be the case on the first attempt but not when they crucified their first attempt at your dish. I pointed out that it wasn’t my fault the dish had to be redone, it was theirs and cooking it should have been a priority and that the waiter said there had been problems in the kitchen– a point which he refuted. So not only had he been patronising, then the service had been painfully slow, but then he refused to even apologise for the delay. But to add insult to injury and just to bolster his ego he throws in, in once again, an extremely patronising tone –“You had better start eating this one quickly before it ends up too well cooked for you”. I cannot even begin to explain how offensively he was acting towards me when he should have been apologetic.

So as soon as the dish came we asked for the bill – which of course, had service included. So in summary what can I say about this place? The food – very nice Italian food, the atmosphere – lively and fun, the staff and service - abysmal. And for that reason I could not recommend this restaurant to anyone and would firmly encourage you to take your custom elsewhere. Had the manager been graceful and apologetic for what was obviously his restaurant’s fault – I would be the first to recommend the food here (aside from the steak!) but service that poor, accusatory and offensive cannot be ignored – the service at Pizza Express is more gracious and polite and a Pizza Express bill doesn’t come to over £200!
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2 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Sunday, January 10, 2010

Possibly the worst service I have ever encountered in a bar. Frankly it was one step away from going round the bar and serving myself .

Food to be avoided!!! Terrible experience!!!
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Marlon
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 2
Friday, November 13, 2009

Like the rest of Marylebone, the restaurant was busy (Friday night in October). Three of us had the venison brescola and one had the veal carpaccio. Both very good. The two enjoyed the veal chop and were happy at the price. My poussin was spot on but is it expensive at £16? The one who had the pizza special raved about it. Vegetables/salad are extra but plentiful. For a three course meal with three starter drinks and three bottles of reasonable wines (1 x Vernaccia, 2 x Barbera), it worked out to roughly £60 each between the four of us.

We were asked to vacate the table but that was when we were down to the tap water. We were promised a glass of limoncello but the bar upstairs was rammed. Service was adequate considering it was so busy.

It is popular and trendy but worth a visit and you can eat cheaper.
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Patsy S - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, October 28, 2009