La Brocca

The mixed reviews will give you a very acurate indication of this place - very hit and miss. My experiences... been there 3 times, almost eaten once had it not been for being shoved in a tiny corner - decided against that. Been in the bar a couple of times and the second time my girlfriend had her bag stolen (the workers commented that this had happened before). Not a place I would recommend personally!
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Reviews on this site have not really painted a great picture of this place mainly with regards to the attitude of the waiting staff. Well, let me tell you, I have just been there for dinner and had outstanding service. So much so that it feels like the restaurant owner has read all of the reviews and acted upon them. If that is the case, hats of to him.

The food was great, very tasty but a tad too rich and greasy for my liking. That being said the menu offers a decent variety with original combinations, such as mushroom ravioli with gorgonzola. The tiramisu I had for desert was also very original, it had nuts inside!

The overall experience was delightful; the 2 waitresses were outstanding in every way, the atmosphere was cool, relaxed and cosy, perfect for a date. The people are from all walks of life, mostly locals.
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Ladislas
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, February 09, 2007

my experience of la brocca restuarant, having been there 4-5 itmes, is that food is pretty good, atmosphere is nice in the conservatory, staff expect u to suck up to them to get decent service & that special apple & raspberry crumble is a heap of hot berry jam with a few crumbs on top. avoid the bar like the plague- atomosphere's lousy, service is lousy, its basically just a lousy bar. value for money is not great, but food is nice, definaltely compared to other places in the area
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sareena
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Sunday, December 24, 2006

Interesting is the span from how bad to how good it apparently is. Having lived in the area and having been a frequent customer ever since I haven't had one bad experience at the restaurant. Apart from the food which is great and comes at a fair price (and I'm European mind you, usually we have slightly higher expectations when it comes to food) I've always been amazed by the friendliness of the staff. To me and my friends they have always been superb so I think everyone should try it out at least once.

HOWEVER - to make sure there is no confusion, the bar is upstairs (sometimes crowded and staff not superfriendly) the actual restaurant is downstairs!!!
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Christian
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Thursday, November 23, 2006

La Brocca is without doubt my favourite restaurant in London! The food is first rate - hearty and absolutely delicious! It's the kind of place with real personality, and that goes for staff, atmosphere and food. I can't get enough of it!
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Anna Mayall
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, November 14, 2006

My favourite restaurant, quality food and service with bags of atmosphere. Well priced too. Not sure what people are saying below, perhaps they come from a different planet............ or perhaps they're just used to dining out on a Michelin star or something.
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Edward Ralph
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, July 30, 2006

My experience:

- can't get to the bar because the owner is sitting there drinking with all his mates.It's not even very busy in here.........apart from the owner and his mates.

- once at the bar can't get served because the manager behind the bar is too busy talking to the owner and his mates. The manager clocks me and ignores me. Ah, the power you wield when behind the bar. I sit down with my friend who already has a drink

- After 5 mins or so I turn round and the manager signals his availability to me. How nice of him. I half smile at him but decide to give it a miss.

The people here are simply ignorant, lack basic manners and have all the charm of an angry hippo.
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Saturday, July 29, 2006

I am amazed to read such negative reviews of La Brocca. My boyfriend and I live locally and eat out a lot. La Brocca is our favourite West Hampstead restaurant and we usually find ourselves in there about once a week. The food is simple, flavoursome and reliably good - generous portions with a real Italian rustic flavour to them. It has to be said that they don't do salad dishes as well as pasta, which is their forte - the spaghetti alla matriciana and penne arrabiata are tried and tested favourites. A regularly changing specials menu caters for more adventurous fare - recent dishes have included wood pigeon ravioli, pumpkin ravioli and various fish and meat dishes. Their recent organic week went down well too. Perhaps it's because we are such regulars, but we've always found the service quite the opposite of rude! The waiter and waitresses who deal with us are positively chatty and have never been anything other than friendly, prompt and helpful. We even get a free limoncella on most occasions and have twice been given a complimentary dessert. My brother and various friends live locally and we are all regular patrons of this lively and well-priced restaurant - definitely the best Italian in NW6 and its environs.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, July 20, 2006

Living in West Hampstead I am constantly looking for a good local restaurant that I can nip into with friends on a week night for a quick bite. At first glance La Brocca appeared near perfect. Sadly, this was not to be. The food is fine, the atmosphere fine, but the service is possibly the rudest and most unpleasant I have ever encountered - and this from the managers as well the waiters so no chance of complaining to somebody who cares! My advice: avoid at all costs unless you don't mind being treated as if you are stuck to the bottom of somebody's shoe.
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Sally
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, July 18, 2006

I have to say I have lived in the area for 5 years and have always found the food mediocre, the staff incredibly rude to the point where it has ruined an evening and I also thought it was expensive for what it is.

I have never had a really enjoyable evening here which is a shame as I keep trying because other people say different things. However I think after reading that many other people have had a similar experience I have decided that I will not go back.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Friday, June 30, 2006