Giovanni Rana

So I’ve just posted a picture of basilicum lacking a bit of watering… It’s kind of a good image of our experience yesterday.
So the place is looking like an average/​good Italian restaurant. Friendly staff. No issues here. Except maybe lacking a bit of experience, not really knowing what was on the menu. And when you order some starters to share, they don’t give you any cutlery to serve ;-)
Regarding the food and drinks. It probably took a good 10mn to finally get our drinks. Then the food… It’s not bad but it’s not wow either. Very average, and also very salty for the pasta. Ended up choosing not to get coffee or desert here.
Probably much more efficient on a weekday I guess, working a lot with the offices.

Came here for lunch. The food was not good. Ordered the fresh made tagliatelle with the prawns and courgettes. The prawns looked like they had been half chewed and despite there being way too much creamy sauce the whole dish was bland. I only had a few mouthfuls then couldn’t force any more down.
Won’t be returning

A superb, specialist pasta restaurant with an excellent selection of hand made, fresh pastas with exquisite sauces (vegetarian, fish and spicy options all recommended) and a great selection of cured meats to compliment your meal. The wine selection is also very, very good. Packed away on Triton Street (a short walk from Warren Street or Euston Station) it is a perfect choice for a luxurious dinner with friends or a quick bite before a train journey. I will definitely be going back!

This place gets very busy during lunch time. I would highly recommend getting a reservation. Also, if you’re planning on coming here for lunch, it will most likely take about 1.5 hours at least.
I came here with 4 colleagues for lunch. We ordered: meatballs, calamari, bread and olive spread. I will warn you that this place is hit or miss. The first time we came here for lunch all the meatballs were raw in the middle. The rest of our plates were fine.
The second time I cam here for lunch, my pasta was not cooked… not al-​dente, literally crunchy hard.
All in all, this is a decent place, not great, not terrible. I would come back here for their freshly handmade pasta — their green and yellow pasta with shrimp was tasty.

Giovanni Rana was quite uninspiring and somewhere that actually specialises in pasta we were quite disappointed that one of the pasta dishes was not even cooked properly.
The restaurant seems to cater more for the offices nearby located in a business quarter with other restaurants in the complex. Most of the diners were quite smartly dress which created a different, more formal sort of atmosphere. It was fine, nice warm setting as the result of the natural light reflected off the nice light wood décor and furnishing. It created a very modern clean fresh feel which was comfortable to settle down into.
We started with the Tagliere for 2 which consisted of Seasonal Cured Italian Meats & Cheeses
with Seasonal Chutney & Gnocco Fritto (fried dough puffs). The whole dish felt a bit plain. The cheese was unexciting and only of one variety which was a bit of a lie to the plural used in the description. The cured italian meat were better, juicy with more variety of flavours and spices. The dough puffs were quite chewy in texture and although enjoyable they did not compliment the cheese well and were quite bland themselves.
For my mains I ordered the Yellow & Green Tagliatelle with Courgettes & Prawns in a Saffron Creamy Sauce. This dish was much more successful, rich, flavoursome and creamy. The pasta was definitely the main show, cooked perfectly, al dente and fresh. The prawns gave the dish a nice seafoody edge and were fresh enough to enjoy the contrast in texture against the pasta. It was a good pasta dish but nothing amazing.
Sadly the next dish really let me down which was the Beef & Pork Cappelletti with Butter & Sage with Parma Ham Crostino. The pasta was hard and dense. I guessed it was frozen and not cooked long enough to soften. The meat filling was very stringy too and dry. Very disappointing for a pasta specialist. The side of ham crostino was nice though and much more satisfying than the main event itself.
It’s such a shame for such a nice venue with such welcoming staff to be let down by such uninspiring food. Prices were quite dear too, ranging from £10 to £19.50 for pasta alone which can be recreated at a much cheaper price. Sadly it’s not a place I recommend for Italian cuisine nor a place I would return to.
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Been here quite a few times, and if I need a dose of freshly made pasta it doesn’t get much better than Giovanni Rana.
On one occasion i was delivered a wrong main course, which was swiftly replaced by the correct order, and no charge. On another occasion, asking for three limoncellos was delivered six, three being complimentary.
Fair prices, good to sit in the sun when it’s shining.

A pleasant surprise for what looks like quite a sterile area of London and a relatively faceless building (although is very new and swanky).
I thought this would be the usual business lunch place that gets you in and out as quickly as possible and with as little attention to detail as possible… I WAS WRONG. There, I said it, note this day, I said I was wrong.
A bit of a confused welcome but we did get a stool at a high table and we had plenty of space around us so no chairs were knocking, no awkward knee touching with colleagues (that happens to others, right?) and the noise levels were below average for such an open space. All good points.
The service here is also great, people always checking in with a smile and willing to help… and they seemed like they meant it, they actually wanted to help. The food presentation showed a real nice attention to detail with my pasta coming in a lovely shiny metal dish and my lunch partner getting cheese ravioli in a bowl made of cheese. A bowl MADE of cheese. The bowl was MADE of cheese. CHEESE!

My main meal came in a basket of cheese! I could tell you about the great service, the lovely décor which adds to the great feel that the restaurant has. I could tell you about the menu filled with fabulous starter platters, fresh pasta, meat, fish, lovely salads and delicious puds which include sweet ravioli, tiramisu and tasty sorbet. But these things although all true were hard to take in when I realised that my main meal was going to be served in a bowl of cheese.
Everything was delicious and you could taste the freshness of the ingredients, I will be returning but it will a challenge to try a new main when what was essentially a plate full of melted cheese (topped with delicious asparagus ravioli) is beckoning!

If you are in the Regents Park area and in the mood for very good and authentic pasta, don’t be put off by the corporate feel of Regent’s Place.
This Italian restaurant offers a very comprehensive menu, offering so much more than the typical bolognese or lasagna. Selection of wines and desserts are very good too.
The dishes are superb, and have never been disappointed by the quality of the recipes. Customer service is also excellent.
Try the lunch deal menu for the best value.
Not ideal for dinners midweek if you are looking for somewhere noisier or bustling. Come here for the food more than anything else, just make sure to bring the right companion.