Fratelli la Bufala

I was greeted by the Manager who was showing off all his awards. I was expecting big things after his hard sell. We were placed by the window as the weather was good and it makes the restaurant look busy given the funny lay out. The table wasn't cleaned properly. Strike 1. The menu looked good and the starters were very nice. The owner decided the best table outside int he sun was his so he could sit there saying hi to the passers by and gradually filled up the outside tables with his friends who weren't eating. I now know why we weren't given an outside table. Strike 2. The owner decided to smoke as did his waiter who decided to sit wtih him for a while. I really didn't appreciate the smoke coming in whilst I was eating. Strike 3. The main course was very average. We had cannelloni which was tasteless and the pizza was very watery. Not impressed with the food at all. Strike 4. By this point I was ready to go and got the bill. I was very disappointed.
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Neil
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

I just had one of the best Pizza's in my life, and i tried several pizzerias in New York, Rome, Florence, Brussels (100 000 italians live in Belgium).

the dough, the toppings, the spicy oil is fantastic.

i had no problems at all with the waitress, i arrived very early (at noon, just after the opening, and was alone for the first 15 minutes or so)

I heard this restaurant is not very reliable, they probably have more than one pizzaola, and Pizza is a very sensitive dish, the dough changes with time, the weather etc...

Maybe it's better to go there for lunch, if they make the dough once a day (if they do it will have risen too much by dinner time)

I'm a pizza freak, i have been looking for the best pizzeria in every city i visited, and this one is the best i had, i guess only Naples can beat this.
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Martin
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Our third visit to la Bufala. Yes shame about the service, the waitresses were not italian and not particularly helpful or friendly. The pizzas were pretty good, and the desserts tasty and quite light. For north london, this is probably one of the best places to have real pizza!
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Fried Egg Fred
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Monday, March 10, 2008

best pizza in London. the service is Ok. I don't expect the service has to be that good. I think the food is the most important. and I like there. it made me miss the beautiful Naples. Many restaurants are more friendly, yes, but I don't feel comfortable. here, you feel comfortable and relaxed. I like the chefs from Naples, they are cool. will go back.
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Vera - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, December 13, 2007

We had a very good meal here on Saturday, and despite some of these reviews, found the service to be fine too. We have been twice before, but this was the first time with our young baby, and the restaurant were very helpful with producing the high chair etc. - one of the chefs, having been waving at Rory, even came out of the kitchen specially to give him a chocolate wafer, which was very sweet.

And the food was, as we have always found, excellent. The onion soup was creamy, full of flavour and with crisp croutons, the buffalo sausages meaty and dense, with good accompaniments, and lovely Italian ice cream to finish. All of our party thought the food was of a very high standard, and at 6pm the place was full of families, which must say something about the service too. At just under £100 for four, including a bottle of Montepulciano and two of mineral water, pretty good value as well.
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Ian - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, November 12, 2007

Why is everyone leaving such unfair reviews about this restaurant? Time to redress the balance.

Last time I ate here, I was not disappointed. It is true that the food can take a while to arrive, but is this such a major problem? I don't think so. We're not talking cripplingly long waits here - just an extra 10 minutes or so. Let it go.

I do agree there is something missing with the service, but I'm not sure I could possibly describe it as rude, as others have. At the very worst it's indifferent.

So what of the food? I say all in all not bad. Our mains and sides all arrived together, cooked to specification and exactly as described. Portions lean towards the generous side. Possibly slightly lacking in flavour, so I'll drop a point.

Personally, I really liked the space with it's plain walls and strange art. The ability to view the kitchen is always a plus for me.

So what's wrong with it? I can't think of much. I genuinely believe certain past reviews have shown this restaurant in an unfair light and urge everyone to give it a chance.
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Alan Ingham - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, November 12, 2007

Me and my wife went to this restaurant and found that the staff were very rude. Firstly they decided to bring us a bottle of mineral water that we never ordered (Fair enough I will accept that) But my wife ordered pasta with lobster but when the pasta arrived it had no lobster included!

When we confronted the waitress she just told us that they had run out of lobster and that they had decided to give us this dish anyway but without the lobster??? Thanks for telling us!

But hey it didn't end there!

When the bill arrived they charged the full price for the dish. When we complained they knocked off only £2 (unbelievable!!!) I think lobster costs a little more than £2.

I would not advise people to go to this place.

1) The service is ultra poor and the waitress really dont care anyway

2) They charge you for food you never actually had!

3) They have a real attitude problem!

Thanks but no thanks..
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Simon
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Monday, July 23, 2007

Live quite close to Fratelli and used to loved eating there....We went there last Friday and were extremely dissapointed....Normally they are pretty slow but is compensated by the quality of the food....but not this time....

The pizza (£10.5) was topped by tinned mushrooms....I have nothing against them but never expected less than natural ingridients in this restaurant!!

The allegedly home made pasta was soggy...

As usual the mozzarella was great but...I'm afraid it was our last time

Ciao....
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Vanesa G.
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, June 05, 2007

I live aroung the corner from Fratelli and go there fairly regularly for pizza which is very good indeed. I have tried pasta dishes as well which were good and also meat and fish dishes which were also very good. I do however strongly recommend the pizza. And yes, at times the service is slow but so what? Take it easy.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, May 14, 2007

"Frankly insulting" was what I said to the waiter as I went to pay. Having read the reviews I wanted to taste the food and also see why there was so much fuss made about the service.

The food was good italian food - nice pizzas and we had two tasty starters of bufala meatballs and an antipasti of cheese and mediterranean vegetables. The only gripe I had was there was garlic on the first two pieces of garlic flat bread and underneath on the remaining pieces, there was none so I asked the waitress for some more but no more ever came back.

The service was incredible! They were the most hapless group of staff I have ever witnessed. The restaurant was half full at most and after half an hour seated, I had to ask for the menu. It took a further half an hour to bring the wine, and this was after being reminded twice. A request for extra side plates to eat the starters on never came and the pizzas were getting cold by the time they were brought out half an hour after the starters were taken away. Whilst the staff were never rude and always smiling, they were so inefficient and I got the impression we weren't the only people who were getting frustrated. I have never complained about service before but if there was ever a reason not to go to a restaurant based on service, this is it!!

When it came to the bill, the waiter had added on the cost of the garlic bread which we never had replaced and a bottle of water which he had given us as "complementary" because we had been waiting so long for our pizzas. To his credit, the head waiter did apologise for this and even gave us a truly complementary limoncello, but I would not bother with this restaurant again.
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Saturday, April 14, 2007