All reader reviews by Ellen

Osteria Basilico

We visited this restaurant on a short visit to London. I don't normally try to disparage a place after only one visit, but I do think a warning to customers is in order. We arrived early in the evening and were promptly seated. Not everyone in our group is proficient in reading Italian menus, but that wasn't a problem as the menu was quite clear. There were a number of good wines by the glass, which suited our needs, and the food we ordered arrived in a reasonable time. We all had pastas and salads, all of good quality.

Why do I complain? Well, when we received the check and my mother offered her credit card in payment, the server could tell we were American, and after she entered her amount for the bill, the person running the card through automatically, without asking our permission, converted the bill the US dollars at a rate which we would not have paid had we been asked. It wasn't until after my mother got the receipt back that we realized the issue. It's not a huge amount of money, but we felt like the restaurant simply tried to pull a fast one. I've been to London many times and this has never happened before.

After having a nice meal, it left a very bad taste in our mouths. Given that the same street is lined with other Italian restaurants, you'd think they would treat their customers with more respect.

Monday, March 07, 2011
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6