Tinello

I have been waiting to go to Tinello since it opened, and i have been reading very good reviews, but i wasn't sure it would habe been quite up to expectations. I went last week with a friend (we are both italian), and we absolutely loved it... it represents the food from home that we miss living in London and that we have been looking for.

The service is smooth and simple, not overwhelming but warm and confortable. All waiters know exactly what to do and how do it properly, and were at hand when needed.

And the food... well.. it was just perfect: the small eats were perfect for sharing and gave us the possibility of trying different dishes without having too much. The lardo in the crostini melted in our mouth, and the honey complemented it beautifully. Fried corgettes were simply light and tasty, and the scamorza with radicchio trevigiano a perfect combination of soft and crunchy textures, and smokey and sweet flavours. The main course: ravioli with pumpkin and ricotta affumicata, just like my grandma makes them, the perfect balance of pasta and pumpkin, the sweetest pumpkin; and then the monkfish with olive taggiasche and cipolla di tropea... reminded me of the seaside.. of Calabria: fresh fish and the strong and crisp flavour of tropea onions and olives... tasted like summer on a plate

And then of course the little bignet with zabaione coming with my perfectly made espresso.. soo tipical italian, where the small bignet that can only be found in the nicest pasticcerie.

Overall it was just my favorite Italian meal in London. It felt like being at home in italy, where food is amazing even if simple and unpretentious, as each of the ingredient is tasty and fresh, and stands out for its full flavour, and dows not need to be tweaked or manipulated in order to taste better! I will definetely go back again and again!
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starmoon
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, February 22, 2011

My family and I went to Tinello to celebrate my mum's birthday, which included my wife, my sister, sister's partner and my dad.

The service was rather overbearing as soon as we walked through the door, so we felt rather suffocated rather than waited on.

The menu looked promising but was sorely disappointing because the food was very bland overall. The squid, potatoes and chilli stew was fairly tasteless and there was certainly no heat from any chillis they might have used. The special of the day, a red gurnard pasta dish, was also insipid.

My wife and I have eaten in Rome and many good Italian restaurants in and around London but Tinello's was sorely disappointing for us. Maybe it was an off night for the kitchen and staff but we really would not recommend it to anyone else based on our experience.

My parents also commented that they did not enjoy their dishes either and felt the price was not good value for money.
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Jaime - View all reviews by this user
4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Thursday, February 17, 2011

Maybe the reviews I read made me expect a little too much? Really pleasant service and a great looking room but the food was not overwhelming... Small eats were goodish but our main was nothing memorable - my cod with celariac was fairly bland. We paid extra to have some roast potatoes with onions and unfortunately they tasted very much like they had been re-heated. As a potato fan I find that pretty unforgiveable! Walnut sauce on the non-pasta pasta dish was lovely. But overall nothing very special. Probably didn't help having the table next to us so close they were almost sitting in our laps - and as it was a rich an elderly man meeting his teenage girlfriend's mother (who didn't speak a word of English) it wasn't the best situation to overhear all night....
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SE - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Thursday, February 03, 2011

I'd been meaning to go here since it opened, but made it for lunch yesterday.

Overall, I was a little disappointed- not that it was poor (it wasn't) but my expectations after reading reviews here and elsewhere were higher. The premises are pleasant enough, albeit that touches of industrial chic may not be quite what you expect on Pimlico Road. The service is very good, pleasant, attentive, timely, maybe a touch serious . The cooking is clearly a step up from most neighbourhood Italian restaurants. But to me the food lacks the creativity and intensity of flavour that I expected. My starter stew of calamari, potato, chickpeas was fairly bland, and my main course pasta had flakes of white fish that were totally overpowered by black olives. The cooking was actually fine, as you'd expect, it's the conception of the dishes that lets them down a bit.

Realistically I wouldn't walk past Bocca di Lupo to get to Tinello, and Murano, not a great deal more expensive at lunch, is a lot nicer. It's not bad- its just not food I'm going to remember

They could do with a few more Italian wines by the glass from an otherwise extensive list by the bottle. I was with a non-drinker yesterday and found it odd to find only a couple of red and white Italian wines amongst others from Ausrria and Hungary.

Finally I should confess that I wasn't quite convinced by Locanda Locatelli, whose ownwer is involved here. If you like that restaurant, you might well rate Tinello quite highly as a lower -budget alternative.
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David Henderson
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Excellent lunch, very fresh food, the mackerel with salad was inspired and delicious. Service unobtrusive and informed. And i liked the decor; tables not too close together and generally not too noisy with a nice ambience. Will be back.
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HW3 - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The starters were amazing, grilled aubergine ad vegetable salad, goat cheese salad, fried courgette, and all the "small eats" we ordered. Mains were great too (Pasta, Raviolli, Cod) as was the dessert (ooh that vanilla chocolate cake one). Overall, it's a very impressive start! The food is grade A.
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8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, August 13, 2010

Tinello represents a fresh approach to Italian modern cuisine: simple, unpretentious and most delicious.

The atmosphere is exactly what a Tinello stands for: homely, intimate and family driven. The service is spot on and the prices are just right.

Tinello sits in a niche off Sloane Square to serve a niche in the public demand for descent and memorable food. Home cooking away from home.
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Antoine Raffoul
10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, August 05, 2010