Pasta Brown

I've been reading some of the reviews and I must say I'm pretty shocked at the experiences others have had. I've been to Pasta Brown about 5 times now, and I continue to be impressed and will go back again. I am unsure whether it is just the timing that is causing such dramatic fluctutations in service - I have always visited at for lunch during the week as an informal lunch with work colleagues and clients.

The first time I visited we were given free bread AND free dessert (which was the Banoffee Pie and was absolutely delicious). The mains that I have had the pleasure of eating are the Spaghetti frutti di mare (which always has a great amount of seafood unlike other ones I have tried, and is not smothered in sauce, but has a delicate tomato/oil/garlic sauce); the Penne pollo alla Nico (which was the most unique pasta I have ever tried - the chicken is marinated overnight in olive oil, Worcester sauce, white wine & garlic) as well as the Penne Contadina, which was also lovely. I haven't tried any pastas or other mains, so I cannot comment on them.

I have found the service to be very efficient & friendly. I did not feel as though I was being rushed, however as I was generally having a working lunch, I was not intending to sit around for long anyway.

I truly believe that Pasta Brown does NOT deserve the rap it has been given, and I for one will be going back.
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Angie
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Thursday, July 31, 2008

We went there on Friday night as we were in the area - an impulse visit - and though the service was fine, the pizza was the worst i have ever eaten in london. absolute rubbish! get the chefs on a day's training to Strada so they can understand what a pizza base SHOULD taste and look like. hopeless food at rip off prices - avoid!
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sally muesli hill
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Sunday, July 13, 2008

Just left this restaurant after being served the blandest Italian food I have ever sampled (including those straight from the microwave), which, as other reviewers have mentioned, was served within a couple of minutes of the surly waitress taking our order. This puzzled us as the time, and I think in hindsight must be because it is simply reheated or straight from a tin/packet.

I had a chicken and tomato pasta dish which was as watery as the Thames, with poultry that appeared to be cut into cubes and was also extremely plain. My girlfriend had a cheese pasta dish which managed to taste of even less than my dish, akin to one of those microwave macaroni cheeses you buy when you're ill/feeling lazy. Within seconds of finishing our food, the head waiter started clearing away, asking if we were finished, to which I replied we still had our wine to go. This was greeted with an apparently startled look as he informed me that 'Of course I can see that, I'm not going to take your drinks away am I?', which seemed excessively defensive and down right rude. As we were pondering whether or not to get dessert a third chair was added to our table by the manager, which gave the impression that we were just getting in the way of their desire to herd in more customers. Speed is most definitely of the essence in this establishment, to the detriment of their customers. I assume the location ensures that this is the best financial policy for them, as there are plenty of fresh tourists around who can be rushed in and out without worrying if they'll come back and before they realise that not all London restaurants treat their clientele like cattle.

Just to make absolutely certain that we would leave unsatisfied, a 12.5% tip was added automatically, which obviously discourages people from showing their dissatisfaction by just paying for the meal itself. Unfortunately I didn't bother to remove the 'service' charge, although in hindsight I should have, but it certainly left a bad taste - which is more than can be said for the food itself, which had no taste at all.
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Jamie
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Saturday, April 12, 2008

The most shockingly awful dining experience I have ever had in London. We were totally duped by it's location. Tasteless overpriced food, the worse service I have EVER experienced in a Resturant.

If anyone eats here they would not surely return. We wanted to have the 12.5% service charge automatically added but were terrified of the consequences.
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, January 18, 2008

As so many other people reviewing Pasta Brown, I must say that will never go again. The food was over priced and cold, but even that was nothing compared to the rude non-service.

Everybody seemed to be preoccupied with getting us quickly in and out, to get more tourists in for fleecing. No way did the front of house staff – a selection of gloomy-faced girls who seemed to hate their jobs – deserve the 12.5 per cent service fee automatically added to the bill.

Any question we had about the menu was rewarded with a quizzical, disinterested look, as if she was there just to take the orders and to pick up her 12.5 per cent.

Don't get me wrong, I did not expect haute cuisine or an expert sommelier. But what I will not tolerate spending my money on is a cold microwave meal served up by a rude teenager. I can have that at home or at McDonald's.

I have been told that there are is more than one Pasta Brown in London. This is probably because they rely so heavily on passing trade (foreign tourists). For the owners it clearly doesn't matter if their tourist guests are disappointed and never come back, as there will always be enough new tourists to come through the doors.

What is clear is that Pasta Brown would never survive if it needed to get people to come back. It is atrocious.
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Harold Wagstaff
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Sunday, December 30, 2007

visited on 16 nov 2007 surprised to read previous reviews .....service, atmosphere ,surroundings were all first class ..food was absolutely stunning ,excellent value for money ...............will make this a venue to re-visit and will certainly recommend to my colleagues...........am looking forward to eating here again , well done to all the staff.
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mark - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Saturday, November 17, 2007

Starters were ok, but the main course was very poor. Bland, tasteless food. I could have cooked better pasta at home.

Very quick service, makes you wonder if they had everything all cooked up and ready in the first place.

Definately a tourist trap
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Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Sunday, March 25, 2007

I was incredibly disappointed. After waiting 15 minutes to be asked if we would like a drink, the service continued to be patchy throughout the evening.The swordfish steakand my wifes pasta was overcooked,not to mention the fact the side orders did not arrive until we had finished the main course!

When paying, without desert to be offered, we removed the service charge only to be challenged by the waitress who demanded whether there was something wrong with the service.

Overall, for what we received it was overpriced and the service was well below average. I will not be going back.

Spread the word and avoid it like the plague!
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jon rossi
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, February 13, 2007

I'm afraid I have to agree with the previous review. Very rude (verging on aggressive) waitresses, getting our order wrong and repeatedly trying to bring back to our table a couple of pieces of cold and tired looking garlic bread which we insisted we hadn't ordered! I was nearly brow beaten into accepting them the third time they were brought to our table by the very surly looking waitress. Certainly the worst service I’ve ever experienced. The food itself was poor... I'd say worse than pizza hut as I was not able to stomach my sickly, over-dressed salad at all.
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Rachel
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, February 07, 2007

I recently visited this restaurant for a quick meal after work. Pasta Brown has a warm and friendly atmosphere and is tastefully designed. The service was very fast, which is exactly what we wanted. However, the English of the staff wasn’t particularly good which made a difficult to communicate any words that couldn’t be pointed at on the menu. The menu itself was pretty standard for any Italian which is a shame as we were expecting a few signature dishes based on our first impressions from the décor. I ordered a pizza with a topping that wasn’t on the menu and the staff were very accommodating. My wife ordered a prawn and avocado salad with garlic bread to accompany (although it was on the menu as a starter). Despite our request, the staff still brought the garlic bread before the main. Sadly the food was very low standard. The pizza like a particularly bad frozen supermarket value pizza, the type with the bready bases. My wife’s salad was made with frozen prawns and was very bland. In summary, we were very disappointed, mainly by the food which was very poor quality at a fairly high price. I expect from their location that they don’t need to rely heavily on returning customers.
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wizard - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, February 06, 2007