Amico Bio

Just visited this restaurant & must say that I was disappointed. Italian is my most favourite cuisine, and to find a vegetarian one (being a veggie) had me all fired up!

Service was very slow, but the biggest disappointment was the food, which was really bland. Both my friend and I reached for the salt & pepper for our pasta & risotto respectively. Plus no parmesan offered!

The secondi wasn't much better. The tempura vegetables were again very tasteless & my lentil dish - though nicely cooked - was again lacking in flavour & seasoning.

Got this dinner on Groupon, so I can't really grumble about price, but I had such high expectations & left feeling rather dissatisfied. Such a shame!
Comment on this reader review

Kerry
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Thursday, August 18, 2011

My first visit to Amico Bio was with high hopes as I am a Vegan & my husband a Vegetarian. It was lovely to have a menu full of choices for a change.

We shared some giant green olives to start, which were delicious and really fresh. Next up, cauliflower tempura for me - bland, but with a well dressed side salad. Tofu salad for hubby - again, fairly bland but rescued by an interesting salad accompaniment.

Main courses - I went for potato & aubergine cake which was OK but nothing special. Hubby went for tofu sausages with a tomato sauce, which was really, really bland.

However, we had an enjoyable evening and the service was excellent. If we went back we would try some different items in the hope that we just chose poorly the first time around.

Had much better food at Zilli Green although it was much busier and the service less attentive.
Comment on this reader review

Jo
6 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Monday, July 11, 2011

This place is fantastic. We had a two course lunch for two today with wine and it came to £30 which was great value. The Bruschetta was perfect, beautiful tomatoes that tasted as tomatoes should, not as they do often in this country. The polenta cake and chargrilled tofu was the best I have tasted. Combine that with excellent friendly service and people who know the provenance of the food and appreciate good quality and this is what this place represents. It is in a quirky little street at the back of smithfield market and my only criticism would be that not enough people would find it as it is tucked away!
Comment on this reader review

Philippa N1 - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, June 17, 2011

Nice little restaurant tucked away in a quaint old London city street (Cloth Fair).

The service was slow initially, probably due to the food being freshly - prepared, but our waitress was a delight , which made up for the wait.

If you like the unusual combination of Italian and veggie organic - give this establishment a try, you won't be disappointed. The pricing at around £25 per head (with a bottle of wine) is pretty accurate, so very reasonable value.

My only gripe was that the chef kept coming out and handling the food (on open display right by the front door) with bare hands - gloves or utensils would be good please !
Comment on this reader review

8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Saturday, May 21, 2011

I have been to this place a few times, and I have to say, this is a great vegeterian restaurant!!!

The food is all organic and is just great, and Luca the manager, is soo keen to explain all the dishes.The plate are not overcomplicated and they used good quality produce.

My favorite dish is the vegetable kebab, and the paccheri pasta with butternut squash and sage is just amazing!!!

The atmosphere is very nice all time I have been there.

I really recommend to everyone!!! Can't wait to go back!!!
Comment on this reader review

Paul Clark
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, October 28, 2010

I went here based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews. I was very disappointed.

The food was bland, the bread was stale and the service was bad (the waiter was plain rude at one point). As for atmosphere, it's nicely decorated, but there was only 1 other table full. I often pass it in the evening on the way to Barbican tube and it's usually deserted.

I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone - whether you're vegetarian or just enjoy a vegetarian meal from time to time. There are plenty of better places to choose from.
Comment on this reader review

J - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Went last night. There were four of us all ordering different things and all of the food was excellent. The potato cake was the biggest winner. Just look at the menu. All of us intend to go back again and again.
Comment on this reader review

Ian Jones
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Its a sweet little place behind Smithfields but I agree the food was only ok. Considering the prices & portion size, the food which is perfectly edible must have a big mark up!

A nice place for warm atmosphere and really fab service, but dont go if you're a foodie!
Comment on this reader review

9 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Saturday, October 09, 2010

It makes a really nice change to find a vegetarian restaurant in the centre of London rather than a restaurant serving dishes "suitable" for vegetarians. Ate here at lunch with 5 other firends 3 of whom are meat eaters but everyone enjoyed equally. Service was good, staff friendly, will definately return.
Comment on this reader review

Kay
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, October 01, 2010

Love love LOVE this restaurant! I can't recommend it highly enough. Great location, cosy atmosphere, friendly attentive service, nice wines.....and amazing, delicious food. I've eaten there a few times, and everything I've had has been literally breathtaking. The quality of the ingredients shines through, complemented by exquisite cooking skills in the kitchen. Everything is fresh, seasoned just right, filling but leaves you feeling full but not heavy. Being vegetarian myself, I am thrilled by the variety and innovation of the dishes - it is like fine dining, but without the huge price tag. The prices are the same as those at run-of-the-mill chain restaurants such as Carluccios, but there is no comparison in quality - Amico Bio's food is unique, interesting, fresh, made with high-quality ingredients the likes of which you rarely see these days. For example, the bruschetta is bursting with flavour and colour, unlike the more-expensive bruschetta I had at Carluccios recently, which was lifeless and tasteless. Amico Bio uses vegetarian ingredients such as seitan and tofu, which I love (I suppose if you didn't like them, you might be better off going somewhere else). Fresh, healthy, tasty, comfortable, classy - I can't wait to eat there again.
View/Add comments (1)

10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, September 21, 2010