Il Convivio review by Rick Brown
I went here last night after not having been for three and a half years. The last time I went I had a very good time. This time, less so.
Everyone agreed that the food last night was very good. I had the veal which was delicious. The homemade cantuccini to go with the vin santo were excellent. I did not think that the overall level of the food was outstanding though. Similar, if not slightly better than, a restaurant called Carpaccio on Sydney Street. I do agree with the comments made by others that it is a bit of a con when half the dishes on the menu have a supplemental charge to the set course cost.
The disappointing element of last night's visit (a Thursday) was the fact that the restaurant was dead. There was only one other table of people and they left at about 9pm. There was no atmosphere which was a real shame. It also surprised (and annoyed) me therefore that the service was so slow despite numerous waiters milling around and chatting. In my opinion, there really is no excuse for this. If they want to mill around and chat, that is absolutely fine but they should do so out of the customers' view as it looks unprofessional.
The starters took an age to arrive. I suspect that they may have cut back on numbers in the kitchen during August. The waiters were charming one minute and then dismissive the next as if it was a real chore for them to be working in August. From a group of them, one waiter clearly watched me finish my glass of wine and wait for a minute or so before I then reached for the decanter and started pouring my mother and my girlfriend some more wine before he then sighed and came to take over from me like it was a real hassle to do so. That grated on me, particularly as we were the only table in the whole restaurant. I don't want to make it sound as if the service was terrible because it really wasn't. It just was not as good as it should have been given the general standard of this restaurant and the prices it charges.
Given how many other restaurants there are in London to choose from, I am not sure I would go back. It is worth eating here though. Avoid going in August would be my recommendation.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 6
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