La Locanda

7 of us ate there on a trip to London this week. My sister recommended it as she and her husband have dined there for a number of years. The food was very good, the service was fine and all in all it was extremely good value.
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david
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Sunday, May 29, 2011

You may be fooled into thinking you are going into an old fashioned family run trattoria - you could not be more wrong!

Service was perfunctory though the red house wine was really good.

I had the Linguine alle vongole (pasta with clams). The pasta was slimy, overcooked and poorly seasoned. However, my experience was just the same as a previous reviewer in that my dish contained four clam shells (empty) although the sauce contained many little bits of tasteless 'flesh' which could only have been frozen or tinned clams. Maybe they recycle those shells for effect!

Beats me how anyone would think this place is even passable. Steer well clear.
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patrm14 - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Saturday, April 30, 2011

I love this restaurant and have been visiting for over 10 years. The staff are lovely and welcoming and the atmosphere is traditional so unlike so many of the chains in London. Ok so as the review before says, the toilets are just off the main room in the restaurant but it's a small restaurant in the West end of london.

I can highly recommend the seafood platter and the pasta for me is always a must. It's a good cheap restaurant and I still go there and recommend it to friends.
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Janey
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The staff were friendly and helpful, especially when I rang to change our reservation time by an hour and a half, due to a late afternoon cream tea. Finally having enjoyed a lengthy stroll, working up an appetite for traditional Italian fare, we arrived somewhat early. This was no problem and we were seated quickly at a good table.

The wine list was excellent and reasonably priced, however when presented with the menu for the Bronze Hospitality Vouchers things took a dramatic turn for the worse. The table d'hote menu consisted of three starters, three main courses and three desserts; none of which were particularly appealing.

The cannelloni starter was the best part of the meal. Sadly this was followed by a dish consisting of lamb fillets cooked in a rosemary and red wine sauce, accompanied with overcooked cauliflower, broccoli, carrots,peppers and grey sautéed potatoes. The lamb was remarkably tender; with a consistency and flavour strangely reminiscent of liver...

The dessert menu consisted of fresh fruit salad, Tiramisu and my favourite Crème Caramel. The fruit salad was a few pieces of fresh apple - red & green, orange and canned fruit salad complete with the obligatory grape! The Creme Caramel was mediocre, the crème custard was tired and the caramel had been replaced with flavourless, coloured syrup.

The Espresso coffee was excellent.

All in all this was a disastrous choice of restaurant, an experience never to be repeated!
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Pauline Price
4 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Sunday, February 13, 2011

ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!!! Thats all I can say about this place. on Saturday 18th December 2010 we stopped at this restaurant (had not been there before) as the weather was awful and we did not want spend time looking further. The tables were very small with no elbow room. We were handed dirty menus. I asked for vegetable lasagne which is an italian dish and the waitress said the they did not do this and it was not on the menu. I then choose a vegetable pasta from the menu which was of a quality that a five year old could do. It was very obviously dried pasta which they used and it was hard and not cooked properly with cold vegetables and a watery sauce. This was £7.95 and probablly cost 75p to make. My friends salmon pasta and pizzas weren't much better and we did not even bother with a dessert. Then I went to the one ladies toilet which was located on the ground floor with people eating just alongside the entrance door. This toilet was dirty and left a lot to be desired with not even a working hand dryer. Our male friends found three mens toilets upstairs. If an italian went to this restaurant???? they would die of shame. TRULY ONE OF THE WORST RESTAURANTS I HAVE BEEN TO.
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1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Sunday, December 19, 2010

I was in the restaurant on 24th of November and the service was absolutely horrible, the girls don't think they work there, they don't have good relationship with public (customers), when I asked about the food the waitress didn't really want to help me, she said something but I didn't even hear! when she brought me a spoon for the lasagne she didn't put it on the table she just throw it! the food was absolutely disgusting! my lasagnie had a hard pieces of meat which I couldn't even chew! my partner had a spaghetti with seafood and he had shells with no meat inside!! I am very angry and I will never go back there!!!!
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Aro
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Went to the West End last week, it's the first time in ages. A friend told about this resturant, he had been here several times and enjoyed the food very much. So after a long day I was feeling hungary and I was not disapointed at the service and the quality of food that was served here. The staff welcomed me and the food was exactly as I ordered it. Next time I come into London I will have no hesitation in visiting La Locanda again.
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Carol
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, October 03, 2010

We stayed with our group in the "La Locanda" at Sept 10th and it was not as perfect as it could be.

The service was quick but not very friendly and the food was below average.

Due to fact that we are a group of 35 p. they told us that there is no possibility to have dinner a la carte and have to preselect what food the whole group will get.

Sorry, but not my style of having a nice evening with my friends.
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Clemens Jans
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 5
Thursday, September 16, 2010

We were looking for a good italian restaurant and we have never eaten something more disgusting as in La Locanda. It was absolutely awfull. The tomato sauce was a kind of black mixture and the fish was as hard to cut as a meat !

For your health, just don't go there !
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Thursday, August 26, 2010

Initially we were attracted to this place by the smell of grilled meat and the location which was like a little alley of food and bars just off regent street....

However, my overall experience was poor. Our menu waitress was a bit miserable (though our main waitress was lovely), and we were left for about 10 minutes (on a hot day) without being offered something to drink. When our food arrived, mine wasn't cooked to order, the potatoes were undercooked, and my friend's dish was substandard ie tasteless steak smothered in gloopy gravy, and served on a doughy ciabatta. Needless to say, i don't recommend the steak with pate and wine sauce. The tables outside, while nicely located, were far too small and for the price of the main dishes, the dessert menu was very disappointing and there wasn't much of an air of authentic italian other than the names of the dishes.

If you're looking for good food and great service, we wouldn't recommend this restaurant. If you're looking to chill outside on a hot day and people watch, go to the restaurant across the way.
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isis
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Thursday, July 01, 2010