Prezzo

Food was good. Our table got the calzone, pizza and 2 salads. Along with beverages and 3 beers, bill came to 64 GPB. I would go back.

We had lunch here because it was very close to our hotel. We shared the crab cakes as appetizers and they were good. I had a «light pizza with mushrooms,» and it was good. My husband had a pasta carbonara and my mother in law had the salmon. Overall, it was good but nothing over the top.

Yeah it’s a chain and sort of looks like a converted Zara store on the inside, but they do a nice job of not screwing up simple Italian food and serving it well at fairly low prices — so I usually go to one of their locations when I am in town. This location is across from the Cumberland Marble Arch hotel and a block from the Marble Arch.
We stuck to the basics: penne Bolognese and the Il Gusto pizza. I got a glass of cheap sangiovese, that was, well… cheap. That is ok though, it was what I expected. The food came out relatively fast and as usual, it was very good.
Is that it? Is that the whole review? Yup. Good food and good service, at good prices. I know it keeps me coming back.

The staff at this particular branch of the Prezzo chain were incredibly attentive, helpful and funny. Unfortunately, the food was… Lacking. The bread board and olives we shared as starters were ok — good selection of breads though clumsily presented, and the olives tasted a little past their best. The Funghi pizza I had was very uneven with big clumps of topping over half and just a smidge of cheese and dry sauce on the other, and the crust was dusty and unpleasant. My friends had spaghetti and meatballs (verdict: pretty good), chicken ravioli (delicious) and chicken grill (roadkill), which was changed for the meatballs at the suggestion of the staff. Service was excellent, as was the wine, but we were all wishing we’d waited the 40 minutes for a table at Loch Fyne instead.

Even though Prezzo is a chain restaurant, the staff in this branch seem to have ideas above their station. We didn’t have a bad experience with the service, but we felt as if the staff were looking down their noses at us for the entire meal.
The food itself was substantial, tasty and arrived quickly.
My Gourmet Society card was rejected with little apology and I told that it wasn’t accepted over the Christmas period (there was no information on this on the GS website).
Passable, but I’m not in a hurry to return.

This is part of chain of London restaurants. This one was around the corner from our hotel in the Mayfair district, and we were desperate for a place to eat on our last night in London, and had walked past Prezzo many times on our way to the Underground stop at Marble Arch.
The service gets first comment, as I’m really fed up with wait staff in the UK who don’t speak English. This is England, for chrissakes, why can’t the folks who take your order speak English???
The food. We split the salmon and avocado salad, which was good, although the salmon was smoked (should have been noted on the menu) and the salad was a bit heavy on the cucumber. My wife had the penne al pollo zafferano, which she liked very much. I had the spaghetti with tiger prawns, and I can tell you, these were no bigger than domestic cat prawns. . tell it like it, please! And the sauce was a bit heavy as well. Average at best.
And no tiramisu? What kind of Italian restaurant doesn’t have tiramisu? The bar couldn’t make a vodka martini, the waitress spoke less than passable English, and the dishes weren’t accurately represented on the menu. Three stars is generous.