La Locanda

We decided to opt for this restaurant based on The Times offer (£10 for a 3 course meal). We were seated in a booth but no one had bothered to clear away the crumbs from the seat. The food was generally okay but I did opt for the lamb as a main, but was instead served a dish which tasted very much of pork. I'd like to think that if they no longer had lamb on offer, they could just as easily have advised me and I would have opted for an alternative dish.

I would not rush back in a hurry if I was paying normal prices!
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Sunday, April 20, 2008

Went to La Locanda on 8th march, a Saturday , despite having read the 5th March review. We were also using the Times vouchers and were really pleased with the food and the service. ( a decent 3-course meal for a tenner sounds too good to be true) But were were pleasantly surprised. The tricolore salad was as lovely as ever and we both then had the lamb which did have rather a lot of sauce but was well cooked and tasty and hot (I can't bear luke warm food). My friend had the tiramisu which she said was the best she'd tasted in a while. I had the apple tarte which was well prepared I just wish I had chosen the tiramisu. We are going there again tonight.. I feel confident despite recent reviews!!
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P Dennis
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Saturday, March 29, 2008

I had the misfortune to visit this restaurant with a friend on15/03/08.

The positives. The appearance of the restaurant is pleasant and bright , the serving staff were pleasant enough, and the garlic bread starter was very good.

The negatives: the wine was brought to the table already opened, the reason being 'that they 'open it at the back when they are busy', yeah right as Little Britain would say. I had a steak ordered medium rare that came out well done. On the menu it said it was sirloin, yeah right, whatever. My friend had a chicken dish that came out very bland.

Would I go there again, definetly not. It look very nice from the outside though so maybe you should try it and waste £60 of your money, and then see what review you write.

TomKe
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Mr TM Kelly
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I went to La Locanda with three friends from work, using the Times dine for £10 vouchers.

The restaurant obviously thought that as we were eating on a special offer, they would set back on the quality of the food.

The starters were OK, and the stuffed mushrooms and tomato and avocado salad seemed fresh enough. The Door wedge of deep fried Brie was generous but somewhat resembled a building block.

The main courses were absolutely dire. The vegetables must have been cooked about two days ago. They were completely overcooked, drained of colour and were limp. At least if you are going to re-heat vegetables in the microwave, make sure you reheat them thoroughly.

The meat was poor quality and drowned in sauce. The risotto was actually peas and rice, and no amount of parmesan made the flavour any more interesting than dish water.

The fruit salad was form a tin, with glacier cherries and peeled grapes. The 'home made' Tiramisu was suspiciously factory like and rather dry.

To top it all off the service was miserable and, after refusing to leave the full 10% tip, the waitress chased us out of the restaurant and shouted at us, telling us it was compulsory to pay the full tip. I explained that we paid a tip which represented the service, at which point she bellowed 'you have yourself a good evening and don’t worry about it' and marched back inside.

The Times vouchers are an excellent opportunity for a restaurant to draw in new customers, but i can assure you i will never be going back there!
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Katherine
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, March 05, 2008

This has got to be one of the best kept secrets in the west end...well worth a visit for the value of the food ...the friendly and attentive staff and the owner who makes all feel at home directly you go into the premises..I have visited on a number of occasions and have never heard any complaints or had anything other than superb value for money ..this includes a comprehensive selection of wines..apart from the restaurant on the ground floor there is a large function room on the first floor that would be ideal for private parties / christmas functions etc...for sheer value for money this has to be number one in the west end
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terry williams
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Went for pretheatre dinner and although this place is well priced for its location the service was OK ( nothing special) but I would have expected an apology for a slight accident with a bottle of wine on tablecloth.

Salad was indeed very bland - the ham appeared processed and the cheese that sort that comes in individual wrappers, courgette starter was good, pizza OK but a bit greasy and too cheesey for my personal taste.

For same price Ask/Pizza Express/Zizi are a better experience and quality.
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susan - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, August 28, 2007

We're from San Francisco so we know something about excellent restaurants. My wife, 7 year old daughter, and I had just seen Phantom at Her Majesty's Theater . What a treat. But what was as wonderful as the play, was discovering this little restaurant up the block.

First, it was a beautiful restaurant, very trendy looking (dare I say, very San Francisco?).

Next, the food was wonderful! Well prepared and prompt.

The price was reasonable...perhaps fabulous when you compare to other London restaurants.

The wait staff was outstanding.

And if that was not enough, the manager of the restaurant clearly loves children and spent the evening entertaining our daughter with magic tricks. He even ran after us as we were leaving and did one more trick. Jillian declared Laconda her favorite restaurant "in the world!"

Next time we trek across the pond, we will definitely stop by Jillian's favorite restaurant.
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Bob Abya
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, August 21, 2007

We went to La Locanda on a Wednesday night with a group of 6, doing the dinner+theater deal. We were expecting something kind of lame. . . and were SO surprised! The area it's in is beautiful, the restaurant is quaint and romantic. We had water and bread on the table immediately, service was fantastic, and our food was delicious! The appetizers we tried (stuffed mushrooms, tricolore salad, and salad+garlic bread) were great, though the salad was sort of plain. The lasagna was SO good, and none of us could eat it all because the portions were so large!

We were all SO impressed with this place and have declared it our favorite restaurant since we've been in London! We'll DEFINITELY go back and recommend to friends!
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, July 12, 2007

I took my family there just after seeing the Sound Of Music at the Palladium before Christmas. The food was wonderful for the price it was set, the staff were attentive and friendly and the restaurant atmosphere was genuine and festive. We opted for the set price menu which was either £11 or £13 for two courses. It was excellent value and given it was right off Regent Street and 5 minute walk from Oxford Circus, I can't think of a better place to eat in that area.

Give it a try!!
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, May 02, 2007

We went here on a Saturday night and the food was ok, I wouldn't say that it was vile as a previous reviewer, it was tasty but not amazing. However as the prices are so reasonable especially for central London you can't really complain.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, November 29, 2006