Al Fresco

A family outing based on a recommendation turned out to be a very positive experience. 5 people shared two starters, mains each, a bottle of wine and two deserts for 110 GBP.
For staters, the portabella mushroom with goat cheese was especially good. Mains ranged from pasta in a creamy white sauce to Al Fresco Pollo and seafood. The Chilean sea bass was the best of the lot, although each person enjoyed their main course.
For desert the yogurt gelato was unanimously found insipid while four of party of five enjoyed the vanilla ice cream crusted with nuts and meringue center.
The wine, a merlot, was surprisingly good.
The maître de gave us a nice table in the patio area when we weren’t happy with the first choice offered. The ambiance was great with a Mediterranean feel to the place. All of this in North London without bothering to travel to central London.

This restaurant is packed every day from morning through to night. I have visited this restaurant many times for special events, all the family love the food, the ambience, the noise, the good attention despite the staff working their socks off to keep everyone supplied with food and drink.
The seafood is high on my list of things to order, mind you all the dishes are high quality and worth going back just so you can try a different dish each time. We have also been to its sister restaurant in cockfosters, this was a little quieter but it was 5 pm. However it soon for very busy.
Would recommend the whetstone branch for couples or groups anytime.

Have eaten here many times and the food is very tasty and good value. Great place to eat when the weather is good as there are large outdoor eating areas. The service is appalling but the food makes up for it and as long as you can ignore the rude waiters, it can be a fairly pleasant eating experience. On one occasion when I ate here with my family, the waiter accidentally knocked over my almost full bottle of water and it went everywhere. He mopped it up in silence, no apology at all and even worse, did not offer to replace the water, hence we left no tip. You have been warned but the food is consistently good.

I’m afraid I’ve had to revisit my review, which previously was a barely average 2.5 out of 5. We went into a packed Al Fresco on a recent Sunday night where all started well, 2 pleasant starters were enjoyed while we chuckled at the usual chaotic service. However the main course proved to be an outrageous farce. My wife’s food turned up and she told me how nice it was. My steak with Masarla sauce however turned up as at steak on a bed of rocket with a balsamic reduction drizzled over it. I had cut a small piece from the end before I realised. Sending it back I was met with profuse apologies but after 10 minutes or so when they returned with the correct steak it quickly became apparent that it was the same steak (the piece was still cut off the end). I can only assume they rinsed the vinegar off then re-​cooked the steak. When it first came it was barely medium (I asked for rare) by now it now it was massacred. When I complained I was told it was done for my benefit so I wouldn’t have to wait too long but that I would have a discount at the end. So I had to endure a dreadful excuse for a meal, dry, overcooked and quite possible washed steak. If I was a cobbler I could’ve made use of it for a new sole, however I endured it so I didn’t embarrass my wife by making a scene. I did this fully expecting to have the cost of the main course removed. However I was mistaken, what was my discount I hear you ask? £5! It makes me angry thinking about this derisory discount as i write now. This, I hesitate to call it a restaurant, is a sorry excuse for an Italian, average to poor food at best, useless staff and a restaurant manger who looks upon his customers with an undisguised contempt. Do yourself a favour and avoid this place like the plague. 1 star is too generous but unfortunately as low as I can go.

An all time favourite of mine. The Rigatone alle Melanzane (possible misspell) is what I usually get, and is very tasty. The seared tuna is a solid choice as well. Om nom nom!

well, I have been twice in Alfresco and both times food was lovely, very weel made and service was ok, i can’t complain, poor choice of desserts for my taste, thats why i normaly never order sweets in any UK restaurant.

I love this place. Authentic Italian home cooking at a fair price. It’s the restaurant I always visit when I am back in North London. I always end up ordering the same dish, but the menu is extensive and caters to everyone. The staff are friendly and are actually Italian, which tends to be a good sign I always think.

This used to be my favourite restaurant and me and my kids used to come here often. Its not a very comfortable restaurant as they have so many tables you are very squished up which we used to put up with because the food was so good but unfortunately they have put the prices up so high that we can no longer come anymore. Five years ago the steak was 13.80 for a nice decent sized piece of meat now it is 19.70 and much smaller. Its also very noisey because they cram so many people in. We came to this restaurant for years but sadly its just far too expensive now and its not justified. Unfortunately they have become very greedy.

still great food, staff still rude, but who cares?

An authentic Italian atmosphere in this very popular restaurant. Always a queue at the weekend so remember to book. The food is good if not outstanding but the prices are very reasonable with a good selection of pasta and pizzas. In the summer the terrace is open for outside dining.

It’s not often, or ever, that I go up to Whetstone. But I did the other day for a friend’s birthday dinner. When she mentioned the name Alfreso, admittedly I was naively expecting some sort of mediocre Italian eatery with so-​so food. But how wrong I was.
Alfresco is a very warm homely place, with friendly Italian staff bustling around the place. We went on a Wednesday night, and it was packed with all sorts of people from large parties of families to couples on a romantic night out.
The food is decently priced, and the menu was extensive yet also authentic. Aside from the usual pasta and pizza dishes, I was happy to see a good list of fresh fish to choose from. I ordered the incredibly rich yet delicious Gnocchi with smoked ham, rocket and cream. It was just right, and very filling. Someone else ordered the grilled Sea Bass, which came perfectly cooked with rosemary, and a large side of vegetables and new potatoes.
A couple of us arranged to have cake served as a surprise for the birthday girl, and most of the waiters came out, clanking on a bell, and belting out the words to Happy Birthday. That was a lovely.
Wonderfully friendly staff and faultless food. Pity there isn’t something like this based in a more central location! I would definitely trek up here again, as it’s not a place I would go to just for special occasions, but it’s a place for all occasions!

This typically Italian restaurant is not small in size, though you do get that feeling when you are in there as it is very congested. It does have a garden with some seating, but you will find that busy too, especially on the weekends. It’s busy every night!
The menu is typically Italian and at the entrance you will find yourself walking past the desert cabinet. I went in a large party and got to taste quite a few of them, but nothing beat the Tiramisu. The service is once again, typically Italian, cheerful and happy.
I lived in Florence for over a year and tend to be quite critical of Italian restaurants, and I love it in here!

Alfresco has better food than a Taverna in Florence, Italy. The ambiance of this place cannot be beat and has a colourful Mediterranean feel. You are treated to bread and olives whilst you wait to be served. I always order the same thing Penne Arrabiata and substitute penne for spaghetti. The servers offer you freshly grated cheese to put or your pasta and are willing to stand there for five minutes to make sure you get enough! Alfresco does brilliant pizza with a thin crust and fresh garlic and chili oil can be summoned. I took my parents here as well and they were suitably impressed. This may be the best restaurant in Whetstone and is definitely the best Italian I’ve had.

I love this place, it is one of my local restaurants. I was told by a friend when moving to this area to go check out this place as the food is amazing — he was right!
You walk in and you feel like you are immediately transported to the heart of italy. The décor is very european and lends itself to a continental atmosphere.
The service is exceptional. The waiters are all italian and know the menu inside out. They are very friendly and polite you feel you are being respected and nothing is too much trouble. I ask for both garlic oil and chilli to accompany my fabulous pizza and where some places clearly consider it too much trouble this place will gladly bring you plenty.
The prices are very reasonable. For example I always order the Napoletana which is only 4.80 and is the most authentic italian pizza I have yet to have here in London. I highly recommend their pizza’s if you like a large thin crust with plenty of topping. My friend has the steak which he say’s is fantastic.
I highly recommend you visit this place if you find yourself close to Whetstone!

This is a lovely large restaurant serving quality Italian. Friendly Italian waiters, a well decorated restaurant and a good atmosphere. I like to think of myself as a bit of a bolognese connoisseur, and Alfresco serves one of the best I’ve ever tasted. The spaghetti al tonno (tuna) is good too.