La Brocca

I wanted to write a review of Brocca, as my experience was so different from some of the reviews on here. I went last night in a group of 6 people and had a really lovely evening.

Staff were friendly, helpful and service was excellent. We weren't served as quickly as in some chain restaurants, but that gave us time to talk and enjoy the atmosphere. Even mid week it was full and they were turning people away at the door. They needed to use a slightly different pasta to make two of the main dishes (which we wouldn't have noticed) and because of this even offered us a free bottle of wine.

Food was lovely, wine good and it was a really enjoyable evening.
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9 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, November 18, 2011

Dreadful, unpleasant place. We were seated and left to rot for 15 minutes before anyone came and took an order for drinks - by which time we were desperate to order our food.

We ordered a Bruscetta and two pizzas - the bruscetta (one slice of toast with a tiny smattering of basil) was supposed to fill the gap whilst we waited for our Pizzas. It was finished in an instant, but empty plate, wine glasses and water glasses sat miserably in front of us for a further 45 minutes as every table around us filled up, ordered, and got served their main courses in good time. It began to feel somewhat personal. 1.5 hours after first having sat down - still no pizzas. And a conspicuous lack of waiting staff to offer us... well some sort of palliative as we sat and gnawed at the table cloth. After eating away into the last reserves of our patience, we decided to get up from the table, and mention the absence of food and drink to the waitress . She was busy, admittedly, but a minute later turned up to the table, face curdled and sour. " It's busy upstairs, and you ordered starters..." was the explanation/accusation offered. " you should have checked on us - the bruscetta and wine were finished a long time ago, and we've been waiting for over an hour for some pizzas ", we reasoned. "Don't get aggressive with me!" she bounced back. We were both shocked.

We asked to see the manager, who belatedly turned up and plonked herself down on the table next to us and surreptitiously transferred napkins and cutlery from that table to ours (we had none) as we chatted,She suggested that our table was geographically easy to forget about (!), it was busy (!)and she could check times on the computer (again, an overly defensive response), and she would take service off the bill. Again, this seemed illogical to us. A place shouldn't punish their staff for their managerial inefficacy. Our waitress was rude, surly, aggressive , but clearly ill trained and under -supported with very little autonomy to offer solutions. It was as much the kitchen's fault for very obviously concentrating on the large tables' orders, before our own tiny one.

Our pizzas finally came and were average at best. Undercooked dough and conflict-stressed stomachs left us distinctly unhungry.

Our waitress was left to continue dealing with us - unpleasant and awkward for both parties. The bill came back: one small glass of wine had been taken off, and no service charge had been added ... and the manager had disappeared back upstairs never to be seen again.

Miserable, depressing and aggressive place. Avoid it!
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Sunday, October 09, 2011

Amazed by the negative reviews. I guess any place with more than one chef, a big menu, and lots of covers, can slip up, but I'm surprised even so. Like many places in WH, it is occasionally inconsistent, but in general I've enjoyed good food there, often great food.

I've had a quite wonderful plate of antipasti; downplayed by its menu description, what transpired was varied, delicious, generous, and of high quality. The gnocchi was satisfying.

I've had ravioli dishes which have been great on most occasions, a touch dry once. And I did have a disappointing deep-fried seafood dish - overdone and not substantial.

The last two pizzas I've had in La Brocca have been marvellous. Properly seasoned; remarkably flavoursome in fact (some pizzas can simply turn out bland), with properly-cooked bases and fresh ingredients. Friends have been impressed with the mackerel pate currently on the bruschetta menu - while I've been pleased with bar snacks upstairs and quality of side salads.

They've recently hired a 3rd chef; the barman Adam told me he's added another dimension. And on my last restaurant visit the service was wonderful.

Overall I find the menu and food full of character and interest and I love the place. They've recently revamped the menu and website, so if there was any complacency creeping in, perhaps they were aware of it.

And get upstairs in the wine bar on jazz nights - the atmosphere is fantastic and you can order food from the bar menu.
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7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Saturday, June 18, 2011

La Brocca used to be good, now is distinctly below average as an eatery, and like the other well known haunt in West Hampstead, namely the Wet Fish Cafe, it has raised prices whilst letting the food go. Food is bland and unoriginal, and about 30-40% overpriced for what you get. Service is uninterested. All in all, a big disappointment, and I hope the owner does read this and resolve to turn things around, as the bar is ok and, as I say, it is a bit of a West hampstead landmark.
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Luke
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Thursday, June 16, 2011

anyone giving this piece of bad restaurant - and i use the term 'restaurant' loosely - a good review must be related to the owner. it looks nice but the food was what u'd expect from a greasy spoon. the main course i had cost £13.50 but was just like what u get from a greasy spoon for £4.50. i mean its not inedible, but its clearly all pre-prepared, out of a tin and not-fresh. will never go back no sirry bob!
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3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Thursday, March 31, 2011

went last night with another couple for a bite to eat in the knowledge of this being a decent restaurant ....How wrong was i going to be...The place looks shabby and unkept ...the staff appear to be at least, disinterested and they just simply gatered around the bar area all night chatting and laughing giving the occasional glance to the diners once being waved upon to grab their attention...The food can only being described as sub standard poorly executed italian ...issshh sort of something.

Our "special "bruschetta of mozzarella and mushroom consisted of 2 pieces of soggy bread topped up with almost burned sauted button mushroom( £6.50 ...???? are they mad??) the spaghetti bolognese sauce,my friend had tasted strongly of cinnamon(?????) so did the lasagna .Obvoiusly the same sauce was used.When we asked why the response was: " It adds flavour " I am italian and from bologna ( the sauce was invented there ) and i never heard such rubbish in my whole life.My wife ossobuco was disintegreating in the swimming sauce and lacked any real flavour and my "special "pizza of parma ham and rocket (£10.50 ) consisted of 2 cheap slices of ham and a scattered rocket .The tomato sauce was salty and too much cheap parmesan was added instead of mozzarella as topping ( dreadful). 2 glasses of house wine and 4 diet coke including the service came to nearly £ 84.00 for 4 people.Shocking !!!
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sergio rossi
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Friday, March 04, 2011

I agree with the recent reviews. Killed by complacence.

This place used to be comfortable, reliable, relaxed and fun. Now it's let itself go badly. Grubby, couldn't care less, slack, with poor quality food. I'm sure it only stays open because people go back out of habit. It won't win any new trade as competition has really hotted up in West Hampstead.

If the owners couldn't care less anymore they should move on and let someone else have a go - the premises could house an excellent resaurant, and that's what the area is crying out for at the moment.
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Kwev
3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Friday, October 22, 2010

Used to love this place, but not any more.

Went for a friends birthday and was embarrassed to say it was my suggestion by the end. I did not get more than a few bites through the dishes I order. The squid starter was not fresh and pretty sure it had been plonked on my plate from a jar. The pasta course was far too greasy and lacked any flavour. My boyfriend ordered the steak which was tiny and had to order sides as an extra making it cost over £17.

The food was really poor quality and the menu has been massively reduced. It is a great shame as I have been going to La Brocca for over 15 years. I will not be going again.

I am implore them to change back to their previous menu as there is so much choice in West Hampstead that people will vote with their feet. The quality is much better in the Italian restaurant just opposite.

If La Brocca owners read this please do change back as you had an amazing restaurant.
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4 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Thursday, October 14, 2010

Oh dear. This was until recently our favourite restaurant in West Hampstead. It used to be totally reliable, great food, excellent menu choice and fab atmosphere.

We went a couple of weeks ago and were a bit disappointed as the menu had all been changed and was much smaller – if you reduce the size of the menu you don’t compromise on quality. We didn’t have a great night and the food was just OK but we decided that maybe they were having a bad night due to the changes to the menu etc.

Until we went again last night for a family meal. Unfortunately the food was distinctly below average. My sister ordered a starter of 'Squid, Anchovies and King Prawns'. She got one prawn and the dish was served along with the square bit of cardboard the food was obviously heated up on.

The night continued along that vein when we ordered some 'French fries' which were on their specials board. Along came a small bowl of about 10 roughly cut potatoes and with a price tag of £4! I asked what was special about them and apparently they were on the specials board because they are not normally on the menu...ok then. I am certainly not expecting wonders when ordering French fries but I think the least you can expect is a decent size bowl of well presented fries without being completely and blatantly ripped off. In fact the pizzas and salad's we ordered were good but at the end of the experience it was the attitude of the chefs that really frustrated me who clearly were not interested in getting feedback on their new menu and spent the rest of the night glaring at us from the kitchen.

The toilets were really dirty and there was an open cupboard with filthy chef's uniforms on display...not giving a great impression on any level.

I would like to emphasise that this is the first time I have ever written a review on any restaurant website but I felt compelled to this time. It feels like La Brocca are massively taking advantage of the reputation they have gained and are now cutting corners in all regards.

La Brocca – if you keep on with this approach you will lose your extremely loyal client base in West Hampstead. There are other fantastic Italian restaurants less than 5 mins walk away. We’ll just go there in the future.
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4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, October 06, 2010

This restaurant is a winning combination. It's tucked away in a basement / conservatory, away from the noise of the main road and placed somewhere between a family-run establishment and the Italian peninsula.

Do not mistake this with the bar upstairs. The bar upstairs is, well, a bar. The restaurant is downstairs. The two are very different, so do make sure you enter the right one!

Once you're downstairs, you're in a charming venue in which you're made to feel very welcome. The staff are very friendly, as well as efficient and always happy to help out if you're unfamiliar with anything on the menu. They were also quite forgiving of us almost setting fire to the tablecloth.

Food portions are definitely on the generous side. After our starters, I was concerned I wouldn't be able to make a dent in the main course. They had an unusual item on the menu, which was a pizza for sharing. When it arrived, it was only slightly smaller than the table itself.

Wine was a little steep, which was a shame, but there are always house options. And they didn't make a fuss about tap water vs bottled water, which was definitely a Good Thing.

The whole experience was unrushed and relaxed. It's definitely a place to which I would return.
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Alan Ingham - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, January 04, 2010