anil bajpai

Review of Locanda Locatelli restaurant

We went to celebrate a birthday. We had to call th...

We went to celebrate a birthday. We had to call the drinks waiter twice in order to order our drinks. The food overall was nice except one of the main risotto dishes was undercooked and had to be sent back. They took very long time between starters and the main course. We didn't mind as we were chilling with good wine. 15 minutes after the main course the waiters started to tell us that we had to leave soon and if we wanted desserts, we had to order even before the main course was finished. Remember we had to send back one of the dishes that was undercooked. When we protested they offered to take away the DISCRETIONARY service charge, which we wouldn't have paid in any case given the service we had received. When we mentioned Trust Pilot and asked for the manager's name suddenly we were offered complimentary desserts! We accept that 10 o'clock was government's deadline. But knowing that management should have been more efficient instead of almost pushing us out even before we had all finished main course. If you are looking for a chilled dinner evening, I am sure there must be many other places in central London than this restaurant at the prices they charge.

PS: I love extra garlic in my risotto, when I asked for it I was given 6 or 7 whole cloves of garlic! I pointed out that they needed to be crushed. They brought them back chopped!! I am sure any Italian restaurant cook would know that it either has to be garlic oil or crushed garlic to mix in a dish.